  guru kelucharan mohapatra' (; january 8, 1926 â april 7, 2004) was an indian classical dancer, guru, and proponent of odissi dance, who is credited for the revival of the classical dance form in the 20th century.dance review; sculptural and sensual, it's odissi by anna kisselgoff, new york times, october 19, 2000. he is the first person to get padma vibhushan from odisha. a noted sanskrit poet of india writes on this guru 'that saango-paanga-subhangi-laasa-madhuram samteerna-nrutyaarnavam' which means - each fraction of his dancing body leads to paramount sweetness through the miraculous pose and postures. in fact, guru kelucharan mohapatra crossed the ocean of styles. ==awards== * sangeet natak akademi award, 1966 * padma shri, 1972 * padma bhushan, 1989 * sangeet natak akademi fellowship, 1991 * padma vibhushan, 2000 * kalidas samman from madhya pradesh government ==quotes== * "odissi is not a mere dance form to entertain people but to inspire and elevate. i don't actually dance but pray in compassion and the spectators say that this `form' is dancing."  * ""the real dance must convey the feeling of undivided existence, that a spectator can feel that he is not different from the thing observed". * " dance has not only made my life purposeful,it has been my whole life... whatever i am today is entirely due to the blessings of my guru.&q
1926_births 2004_deaths Dance_instructors Indian_classical_choreographers Indian_classical_dancers Odissi_dancers People_from_Puri_district Recipients_of_the_Padma_Bhushan Recipients_of_the_Padma_Shri Recipients_of_the_Padma_Vibhushan Recipients_of_the_Sangeet_Natak_Akademi_Award Recipients_of_the_Sangeet_Natak_Akademi_Fellowship