Aruna Mohanty has recently been declared as the recipient of the coveted Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. Government recognitions rarely come on time and without courting controversy. But, as the award was announced, the global Odissi community unanimously celebrated the news of the Akademi award being conferred on Aruna who is a rare combination of a dancer, choreographer, guru, scholar, arts administrator and promoter. The people of Odisha, her home land, were doubly delighted after the declaration of the award, the State Government appointed her as the Vice Chairperson of Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi.
She is the daughter of prominent cultural personality late Kamal Lochan Mohanty. “ “Initially, I was torn between my passion for dance and the lucrative financial benefits being offered by my job. But it was Sanju nani (late legendary Sanjukta Panigrahi) who resolved my dilemma. During My passion became my profession and mission for the rest of my life,” confided the dancer.
Aruna acknowledges the pivotal role that her guru late Gangadhar Pradhan played in shaping up of her career as a dancer. “In fact, Guru Gangadhar used to take pride in Aruna being his prime disciple and he had also elected her as his successor for Odisha Dance Academy, the four-decade-old biggest Odissi dance institution of the world today that the late guru had founded.
As a globe-trotting performer - both as a soloist and as the lead dancer of the widely acclaimed Odisha Dance Academy troupe - she has earned enough reputation. A thinking dancer with a world view who had the rare opportunity to come under the guidance of stalwarts like Guru Pankaj Charan, Guru Kelucharan, Sanjukta Panigrahi and Sonal Mansingh; Aruna Mohanty's choreographies have won accolades for being rooted to the tradition while exploring a contemporary character for the classical dance.
