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Ileana Citaristi

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Written By - Team Nettv4u

Ileana Citaristi is an Odissi, Chhau dancer and Choreographer from Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. She has her origins in Bergamo, Italy. Her father is Severino Citaristi, an eminent politician in Italy. She has earned a PhD in Philosophy, specialising in a thesis on Psychoanalysis and Eastern Mythology. For five years, she did theatre in Italy. Under the guidance of Guru Krishnan Namboodar, she learned the art of Kathakali in Kerala. Citaristi moved to Odisha in 1979 and learned Odissi under the direction of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Bio coming soon... >> Read More... , a Padma Vibhushan Awardee.

Some of her renowned dance compositions are Echo and Narcissus, showcased in Bombay (1985); Maya Darpan, presented at Nehru Center in Bombay in April 1993; Yamuna (2005), Exploration and Tantra (2006), Mahanadi: and the River Flows (2008), and Karuna (2010), based on the life sketch of Mother Teresa. Citaristi learned Mayurbhanj Chhau of Odisha from Guru Hari Nayak. She was honoured with the title of Acharya from the Sangeet Mahavidyalya of Bhubaneswar. In 1996, she founded the Art Vision Academy of theatre, music, dance, and painting.

Citaristi has showcased her dance form on the silver screen as well. In 1995, she was featured in Aparna Sen's Yugant. She won the Best Choreography Award for her performance. In 2003, she performed in Goutam Ghose's Abar Aranye. 2004, she staged in M. F. Hussain's Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities. In September 1992, she received the Leonide Massine for the Art of Dance title in Italy, followed by the Raseshwar award from the Sur Singar Sansad, Bombay, in December 1994. In 2009, she was honoured with the Pandit Jasraj Award from the Rotary Club of Hyderabad. Doordarshan listed her as a top-grade artist.

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) recognised her as Outstanding. In 2006, She received the Padma Shree award from the Government of India for her noteworthy contributions to Odissi Dance. She is also the first dancer of foreign origin to be awarded this prestigious award. Besides dancing, Citaristi is also an authored. In 1991, she researched the Martial Art of Orissa under the auspices of the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts. In 2001, she wrote a biography, The Making of a Guru: Kelucharan Mohapatra, his Life and Times.

The Department of Culture of the Government of India awarded her a senior fellowship for the authorship of this book. Her other remarkable writings include The Traditional Martial Practices in Orissa (2012), My Journey, a Tale of Two (2016), and Odissi and the Geeta Govinda (2022). In Bhubaneshwar, she trains students in Odissi and Chhau. Citaristi has been a founder and organiser of various art festivals like the Festival of Films on Performing and Visual Arts, the Kalinga Mahotsav, Sangam, a confluence of dance, and Remembering Guruji, a tribute to Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra.