# Sharmila Biswas

Sharmila Biswas is a leading dancer, choreographer and Teacher in the field of Indian Classical Dance. She is recognized for her considerable contribution to Odissi Classical Dance which brought many changes in the Content, Technique and Costumes. Tracing the many facades of Traditional Performing and Visual arts of Odisha, and in that context viewing Odissi Dance have been the foundation of most of her Dance productions. A prominent deciple of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, a Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee (2012), Sharmila Biswas heads Odissi Vision & Movement Centre (1994), a well-known institution dedicated to Research, Training and Productions.  Graded as an ‘Outstanding’ artiste by The Indian Council of Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. Of India. Graded as one of the ‘Top’ artists by Doordarshan, India. In 2012, Biswas was awarded Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.

## Early life and education

Began Dance Training at the Age of 7, at CLT, Kolkata, where children were given a very inclusive training, created and conducted by some of the senior Gurus of Artistes of india like Balakrishna Menon, Guru Bipin Singh, Kalavati Devi etc. Understanding light-designing, audio- recording, Costume-making, Stage-Craft, Training in Art & Craft, Music, Theatre, Skating, along with Dance Training,
Gthering Performance experience, and Touring for shows were integral part of the Special Curriculum of CLT, a brain child of Samar Chatterjee. The Dance itself included basic training in most of the Classical Dance forms, and important folk forms of India. This Curriculum helped Sharmila to choose Dance as her Profession and Odishi as her style, at the age of sixteen. Her ability to take challenging decisions, her analytical mind and her broad vision also came from her early training at CLT.  She chose Anthropology for her Graduation, to help her understand the creative expressions of people. Sharmila had her initial training with Guru Muralidhar Majhi. Her full training in Odishi was under Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, who not only taught her the dance form, but prepared her for a life as a professional Dancer. Studied Abhinaya under Guru Kalanidhi Narayan. She was invited for the Young Choreographers’ Workshop by the American Dance Festival, New York, in 1991. The two-month long workshop conducted by renowned Choreographers from different countries, gave he exposure to the world of International choreography.  Her unusual and extensive training enables her to blend traditions with Choreographic technique, and makes her work a contemporary statement.

## Personal life

Sharmila married Swapan Kumar Biswas in 1987, who is a doctor specialising in health management. The couple lives in Kolkata and have a son Shoumik Biswas.

## Career

Started her career as a member of her Guru’s presentations. Toured Russia and Germany in prominent roles, and participated as the lead dancer in a number of his dance productions. Her solo career began in 1986 when she was selected to perform at the Youth Festival in Delhi by the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi and ICCR.  This performance brought her instant recognition by the Critics and audience.
She Founded Odissi Vision & Movement Centre in 1994, now one of the Prime Cultural Institutions of India, for Training and Productions based on Research.  Since then, has been performing and choreographing for the past 30 years, as a soloist and as the leader of her Repertory.  Participated in all the major dance festivals of India. Performances abroad include India Festivals in USSR and Germany, performances in USA, Canada, Australia, England, Germany, Japan, South East Asia, UAE, Kuwait, Muscat, Sri Lanka, Senegal and Bangladesh. Sharmila Biswas is the Dance Director of late Rituparno Ghosh’s award winning film Chitrangada. Sharmila Biswas is Graded as an ‘Outstanding’ artiste by The Indian Council of Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. Of India and ‘Top’ artists by Doordarshan, India.  She is the author of a textbook in Odissi dance, titled - Knowing Odissi. Her biographical book ‘Offstage with Sharmila Biswas’, has been published by the National Indo Canadian Council, Canada. Sharmila Biswas is the Recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for her contribution to Odishi Dance.

## Awards

She was conferred the "Best Choreography Award" from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, for her dance production, Sampurna based on the devdasis of Puri. In 1998, Uday Shankar Award for Best Choreography in 1998 from the Department of Information and Broadcasting, Government of West Bengal. In 2010, Biswas was conferred the Mahari Awards. In 2012, she was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest award for performing artists, conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.