Sharmila Biswas

{{Infobox dancer

| name = Sharmila Biswas

| image = Sharmila Biswas, Odissi dancer.jpg

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| birth_place = Kolkata, India

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| occupation = Classical dancer, choreographer,

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| dances = Odissi

| website = {{URL|http://sharmilabiswas.com/home.html}}

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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.{{cite news |title=Rhythms of life |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050423/asp/weekend/story_4631630.asp |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630101118/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050423/asp/weekend/story_4631630.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 June 2013 |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=23 April 2005 |accessdate=28 May 2013}}

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.{{cite web |title=Katha Kavya Abhinaya |url=http://sangeetnatak.gov.in/RabindraPranati2011/sharmila-biswas.html |year=2011 |publisher=Sangeet Natak Akademi |accessdate=28 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927144520/http://sangeetnatak.gov.in/RabindraPranati2011/sharmila-biswas.html |archivedate=27 September 2013 }} In 2010, Biswas was conferred the Mahari Awards.{{cite news|title=Sharmila Biswas conferred Mahari Award|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/sharmila-biswas-conferred-mahari-award/article258855.ece|accessdate=2 June 2013|newspaper=The Hindu}} 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.{{cite web |title=Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Akademi Awards 2012 |url=http://pib.nic.in/archieve/others/2012/dec/d2012122401.pdf|date= |publisher=Press Information Bureau, Govt of India |accessdate=28 May 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://sangeetnatak.gov.in/sna/awardeeslist.htm|title=SNA: List of Akademi Awardees|publisher=Sangeet Natak Akademi Official website|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530204253/http://sangeetnatak.gov.in/sna/awardeeslist.htm|archivedate=2015-05-30}}