Nrityagram
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Nrityagram , is India's first modern Gurukul, set up by Odissi danseuse Protima Gauri in 1990. It is situated 35 km away from Bangalore. In Protima Gauri's own words, it is a "community of dancers in a forsaken place amidst nature. A place where nothing exists, except dance. A place where you breathe, eat, sleep, dream, talk, imagine - dance. A place where all the five senses can be refined to perfection. A place where dancers drop negative qualities such as jealousy, small-mindedness, greed and malice to embrace their colleagues as sisters and support each other in their journey towards becoming dancers of merit."
Nrityagram has grown in its stature by leaps and bounds and is known today for some of the best ensemble work in Odissi. Perfection in dance along with a high level of good technical support, leading to a complete presentation, is its trademark.
The current artistic director of Nrityagram is Surupa Sen. ODA student Bijayini Satpathy is in charge of the Odissi gurukul. Some of Nrityagram's few but meritorious students include Pavithra Reddy, who has had her solo debut in 2003 and who will be hopefully seen in some solo pieces on a wider platform very soon. She has spent almost 12 years as a residential student at Nrityagram, and has learnt under the tutelage of Surupa Sen and Bijayini Satpathy. Ayona Bhaduri and Priyambada Patnaik are also students at this gurukul. They both joined Nrityagram in 1998 and have been a part of the ensemble since 2001.
