"GURUR BRAHMA, GURUR VISHNU
GURUR DEVA, MAHESHWARA
GURU SAKSHAT, PARABRAMHA
TASMAY SRI GUROVE NAMO"
 

Sujata Mohapatra is a versatile and accomplished artiste with a striking sculpturesque quality of dance. As a daughter-in law and disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra she has been dancing since early childhood and excelled in Odissi for the last 18 years. Her dance is particularly noted for its strict adherence to her guru's style a hallmark of which is its grace depth of expression and technical perfection. Sujata has a compelling stage presence with a rare combination of intensity and spontaneity. Wonderful control and excellent precision to her form. Guru Kelucharan stylised her to carry the name of Art and Beauty of Odissi the way he had done.

Amongst the present generation she has established herself as a dancer and teacher of repute, having imbibed the techniques and subtle proportions of the Odissi form. She has performed extensively in all of the major cities of India. She has also performed in several countries abroad as a part of Srjan (Odissi Nrityabasa) repertoire group and a soloist. She is also a recipient of many awards at International and National level.Her work has been acknowledged with the prestigious Pandit Jasraj Award, Smt. Sanjukta Panigrahi Award and Mahari Award, 2004, Bhimeswar Pratibha Samman, 2004.
 
 

Madhavi Mudgal was immersed in music and dance from a very young age coming from a music family with father, the late Professor Vinay Chandra Maudgalya who was the founder of the famous Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi. With every opportunity to learn the arts, Madhavi trained in Bharata Natyam and Kathak under great gurus and performed these dance styles to acclaim.
 
Later she turned to Odissi which she adopted as her preferred medium. Her introduction to Odissi took place under Guru Hare Krishna Bahera who trained her in the fundamentals. Later she came under the tutelage of the  renowned Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra. Madhavi's command over the nritta or purely ornamental aspect of Odissi is striking. Her delicate postures and strong rhythmic footwork combine in an appealing flow of sculpturesque movements. Her subtle abhinaya (the expressional aspect of dance), musical knowledge and aesthetic sense add to the highly distinctive character of her recitals. She has trained a number of accomplished students like Mitali Dev who are based in the UK and are performers in their own right.
 
For her contribution to the art, Madhavi Mudgal received the Sanskriti Award and the President of India's award, the Padmashri besides the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for her contribution to the world of Indian Dance.
 
 

Ramli Ibrahim is well known as the dynamic force in Malaysian theatre possessing an open-mindedness for both the Old & New. Trained in classical ballet, modern dance and Indian classical dance, Ramli is a creator and a visionary in the Arts who sees unity within the diversity of all artistic endeavours.
 
In Indian classical dance Ramli is acclaimed as the revered guru who has not only groomed some of the finest dancers to have emerged from Malaysia and placed Indian classical dance in the context of a Malaysian experience, but he is also one of the very few superb male dancers of the Bharata Natyam and Odissi, as well as Modern Dance. But Ramli's raison d'etre is in the spirit of creation and a genuine need to express this creative energy transcending all polarising barriers.
 
Mitali's first Odissi training was from Ramli Ibrahim at his Sutra Dance Company in Kuala Lumpur, where she had her rigorous training and shaped her passion for this wonderful dance form.