Guru Ratikant Mohapatra

Ratikant Mohapatra

Since 1975, Shri Ratikant Mohapatra, Director, Srjan, has been surrounded by Odissi dance and music almost every minute of his day. Born to Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra “Guruji” and Smt. Laxmipriya Mohapatra on 24th December, 1965, he drew on the vast reservoir of artistic talent of his parents and channelled his natural talents and inclination towards dance and music at an early age.

Trained by Guruji in the art of Odissi dance and playing the Mardala, Ratikant Mohapatra emerged as a leading male dancer by his early twenties. With his soft and hypnotic style of playing the Mardala, he collected a string of accolades for his dual skills, demonstrating them with ease and flair in numerous stage performances and workshops in India and abroad. Described as the “young Kelucharan" by the Times of India, he rendered invaluable support to Guruji in the 1980s as they travelled to establish a global footprint for Odissi. Today, Ratikant Mohapatra has carved an enviable niche for himself as an exceptional dancer, percussionist, teacher, choreographer, and archivist.

His memorable performances include his central roles in the dance ballets Geeta Govinda, Kishora Chandranana Champu, Chandashok, Konark, Dashanana, and Chudamani Pradan, among others, choreographed by Guruji and his portrayals in Jatayu Mokshya, Bali Badha, and Ravana. With experience spanning decades, he has performed at the Festivals of India in France, Germany, Japan, and UK, the Society of Fine Arts and Menaka Thakkar Dance Company, Canada, Vrindavan Dance and Music Academy of Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Hong Kong, ICCR, Australia, and varied locales across India and abroad. He has taught at Padatik Dance Centre, Kolkata, NCPA, Mumbai, Gandharva Maha Vidyalaya, New Delhi, Nrityagram, Bangalore, Glasgow University, U.K, ARTA, France, and Temple of Fine Arts, Singapore and Malaysia, to name a few centres, imparting nuanced training to thousands of students.

Ratikant Mohapatra has earned widespread acclaim for his exceptional commitment and achievements in Odissi dance through several distinguished honors. These accolades encompass the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Odissi Dance (2016), Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar for Odissi Dance (2019), Smt. Sanjukta Panigrahi Samman (2005), Sanjukta Panigrahi Trust, Nrutya Choodamani (2014), Shri Krishna Gana Sabha, and Bhumiputra Samman (2016), Bharat Sevashram Sangha. In January 2025, he received a Ph.D. in Performing Arts from Kennedy University, Saint Lucia, USA; he holds 'A' grade artiste status with Doordarshan and was a Senior Fellowship recipient from the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, New Delhi. He also set a Guinness World Record in 2011 by choreographing and directing 555 dancers in an innovative Odissi performance at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, during the International Odissi Dance Festival.

Blending art with technology, his efforts in archiving the works of his father and other Odissi doyens has vastly enhanced the knowledge of scholars and researchers. He has also researched the evolution of Pakhawaj-playing from its origins in traditional folk forms to classical Odissi dance. Under his aegis, the Srjan archive encompasses an exhaustive and rare collection of articles, books, audio, and video recordings of Guruji, eminent gurus, dancers, artistes, and scholars.

In his role as the curator of Srjan’s annual Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival, Ratikant Mohapatra is credited with organising one of India’s best classical music and dance festivals, with impeccable aesthetics and organisation both on and off stage, year after year. The festival brings some of the best nationally and internationally acclaimed artistes to Bhubaneswar, while honouring outstanding contributors to the performing arts with the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award.

As the Director of Srjan, he has single-handedly created a world-class dance institute, attracting students from across the globe for a comprehensive and dedicated learning methodology of Odissi dance. Additionally, he organises the annual summer workshop for dancers to delve into the subtle nuances of Guruji’s gharana.

In his role as a cho reographer, Ratikant Mohapatra has conceived more than 80 original works, characterised by ‘neo-classical’ choreographic innovations, attractive musical arrangements, experimental lighting, and stagecraft, all within the boundaries of the Odissi idiom. He has introduced new and improvised movements from the Natyashastra, while staying within the framework of Odissi dance. His repertory group, the Srjan ensemble, is one of India’s leading Odissi dance companies. They present his ‘neo-classical’ Odissi compositions extensively across India and abroad, attracting the larger audience through fast-paced movements, innovations in dance and music, and the depiction of popular themes. Among Ratikant Mohapatra’s most acclaimed compositions are Allah, Ardhanarishwara, Biswas, Bhaja Govindam, Geetamritam, Kubjaa, Mrutyu, Shabari, Synthesis, Tarana, and Vitthala Smarane. His versatility and creative energy have further found expression in celluloid as well, with his choreography of Odissi dance sequences for the Indo–Chinese film ‘The Desire’.

At present, in addition to his able direction and administration of Srjan, he is Professor and Dean at the Faculty of Arts, Communication and Indic Studies (FACIS) at Sri Sri University (SSU), Cuttack, imparting scholarly and practical knowledge of Odissi dance in the Department of Performing Arts, which encompasses a wide variety of artistic techniques and styles.

Over the decades, Shri Ratikant Mohapatra has travelled widely and exposed himself to multicultural and cross-border forms of dance and music, in order to bridge the gap between Odissi and the rest of the world. In all spheres of activity related to dance and music, his uncompromising attention to detail, demand for perfection, and high levels of professionalism have established him as a leading force in the art form today as he ably and effortlessly carries forward the timeless legacy of his father and Guru.

SYNTHESIS

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Geetamritam

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