Plot No- 726/1637(C),Nayapalli,Bhubaneswar-751012,Mob. : 9861299772, 9861109755. Email- pragnyanrutyayan©yahoo.co.in
PRAGNYA NRUTYAYAN
Guru Smt. Swayampragnya Sahoo
Drawing on the vast reservoir of creative talent abounding in his family, the young Swayampragnya demonstrated a precocity far beyond her youthful age.
Her father has described her as the “young Sanjuka Panigrahi”. Shee rendered enthusiastic and invaluable support to Guru Durga charan Ranbir in organizing, performing and assisting Guruji . that represents, today, the acme of Odia cultural heritage and its dynamic evolution.
As the Director of Pragnya Nrutyayan, she has created a world-class dance institute which attracts students from all over the globe for extended periods of Odissi dance training. Following in the tradition of her Guruji.,
Swayampragnya organises yearly summer workshops for all levels-from beginners to senior students. These intensive sessions of training give them a unique opportunity to absorb the intricacies of the Guru Deba Prasad Das Gharana in Odissi.
In her role as a choreographer, Swayampragnya has conceived more than 5 original works, each of which has received enthusiastic response for choreographic innovation and quality music. Swayampragnya’s versatility and creative energy have found in her choreography.
Odissi dance, like the other classical dances of India, evolved as a spiritual expression of devotion to a higher being. Odissi, perhaps the most graceful and lyrical of all the classical dances, was, therefore, nurtured in the famous temples of Orissa situated at Puri, Konark and Bhubaneswar. A large number of dancing girls, known as Maharis were attached to these famous shrines to perform the morning and evening rituals for the deities. Its tradition was thus maintained through generations of these temple dancers dedicated to the divine.
On the basis of archeological evidence, Odissi could well claim to be the earliest dance style of India. Natyashastra, the most ancient and authentic text of Indian dance and dramatics, also acknowledges its existence and practice over a large geographical area in Eastern India and, then known by the mnemonic "Udra Nrutya".
With the unfortunate debasing of the Mahari's stature in society dancing at the temples lost its importance; subsequently the fortunes of Odissi dance declined rapidly, especially in the medieval period of the country's history. Nevertheless, the dance's tenuous existence was somehow maintained by the small community of Gotipuas (Boy dancers) and their dedicated teachers, with sporadic patronage from the Zamindari system. Both the Mahari and the Gotipua traditions had an umbilical relationship with the Jagannath temple at Puri; in so many ways the presence of Lord Jagannath pervades the entire life and culture of the people of Orissa.
It was only in the last century that the dance got a fresh infusion of life and that too at the hands of three stalwarts who have comprehensively dedicated their entire lives and all their energies to the arduous task of reviving Odissi. They were Guru Pankaj Charan Das, Guru Debaprasad Das and the most universally admired Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra; they came from the economically lower rungs of society and their achievement is of staggering dimensions especially since there was virtually no patronage for this temple dance.
In fact, to make ends meet, the young Kelucharan used to spend the entire day in manual labour. In spite of hailing from a humble rural background, Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, along with a few illustrious disciples like Sanjukta Panigrahi, Minati Mishra, Sonal Mansingh, Kumkum Mohanty, Madhavi Mudgal, etc, has been able to restore Odissi of its original grandeur and established it firmly as the crested ornament among the Indian classical dances worldwide.
STUDENTS OF PRAGNYA NRUTYAYAN
Established in the year 2000 , Pragnya Nrutyayan, committed to the classical and traditional art heritage of Odissi, Under the able tutelage and leadership of Smt. Swayampragnya Sahoo ; a disciple of legendary Guru Deba Prasad Das and Guru Durga charan Ranbir and also a solo dancer of international repute and choreographer of impeccable perfection. Swayampragnya is imparting training and guiding a group of young dancers in the templel city of Bhubaneswar and with them set up a highly professional repertory who has been performing around the globe and Pragnya Nrutyayan has become an organization of excellence. Pragnya Nrutyayan has an excellent in house training facility in Bhubaneswar, where students from abroad take training under the direct supervision of Smt. Swayampragnya Sahoo.
The academy is associated with several educational institutions with the objective to spread Odissi awareness and encourage youth and students to learn and propagate Odissi. It adds to our credibility and honour that we are one of the proud empanelled groups of ICCR and have performed globally with the invitation by ICCR.
We are invited and performed in several prestigious programmes and festivals organized by Central Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi, Odishi Research Centre, Dept. Of Tourism and Culture Govt of India, Odisha & more.
To provide quality teaching & learning facilities of Odissi dance to aspiring talents of Odisha where learning facility is not available.
Aims to assist deprived, talented students to provide a forum to learn Odissi.
Make Odissi dance reach the audience and students in those parts of the world where it is not popularized.
Create opportunity for young and talented artists to perform in various forums in India and outside India.
Swaympragnya Sahoo, one of the accomplished solo Odissi dancer and creative choreographer of our time. Born in the temple city Bhubaneswar, Odisha she took up dance as her prime passion and profession. A Odia Post graduate from Utkal University she continues dance and finally dance becomes her destiny. She was initially trained by Guru Braja Kishore Mallik form of Odissi dance . Subsequently she was blessed to get a guru and mentor Guru Durga charan Ranbir, the legend of Odissi .
As a solo dancer Swayampragnya created a place and identity for herself. She mastered the art of expression and pure dance with impeccable perfection. Another chapter of Swayampragnya’s life comes to prominence after she found a dance institute called Pragnya Nrutyayan in the temple city of Bhubaneswar. She taught and choreographed with absolute sincerity. For last 8 years, Swayampragnya’s Pragnya Nrutyayan working in the global stage to bring up a new identity for Odissi.
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