Leena Mohanty
Leena Mohanty is a leading exponent of Odissi dance. She has won many awards, such as the Ustad Bismillah Khan Youth award, the Mahari award, the Sanjukta Panigrahi award and performed in many shows throughout the world. She has choreographed dance pieces and items and has taught students throughout the world. Her main bases and centers of learning are in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, India, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and New York City, though she has performed in many other places.
Early life
Leena Mohanty was born and brought up in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India to Rabinarayana Mohanty (Gurudas), a businessman a and Swarna Mohanty, a poet. However, she was raised in a spiritual and cultural family and therefore, was introduced to Odissi dance at the tender age of four. She first learnt under Deba Prasad Das, a famous Odissi dancer, but after the demise of her teacher, she continued her training under Guru Durga Charan Ranbir. She still continues to perform and teach Odissi dance.
At the age of eleven to twelve, she acted in the Odiya movie " Basanta Rasa" directed by Gurudas as Lalita, Srimati Radha's faithful friend.
Awards
The awards won by Leena Mohanty are as such as follows:
- Recipient of Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2006 from Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi
- Recipient of the Mahari Award, 2006
- Recipient of Sanjukta Panigrahi Award, Patitapawan Kala Niketan, New Delhi
- Recipient of Junior Fellowship in dance from Ministry of Human Resource Development, govt. of India
- Recipient of Senior National Scholarship in Odissi dance from Department of Culture, govt. Of India
- Awarded the title Singarmani by Sursingar Samsad, Mumbai, India
- Empanelled artist of the Indian council of Cultural Relations (ICCR)
References
http://artindia.net/leena/about.html