Sharmila Mukerjee Odissi · Choreographer · Guru Enquire
Sharmila Mukerjee in an Odissi pose before the carved sandstone walls of an Odisha temple

Disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra

Sharmila Mukerjee

Odissi exponent, choreographer and guru. Four decades of carrying the temple dance of Odisha from Kolkata to Bengaluru, and on to stages across eleven countries.

Watch her work Learn at Sanjali
  • Karnataka KalashreeKarnataka Sangeetha Nrithya Academy — first Odissi dancer to receive it
  • Mahari Award 2016Guru Pankaj Charan Das Foundation, Odisha
  • Top Grade ArtistDoordarshan
  • Established ArtistIndian Council for Cultural Relations
  • Kala GauravKarnataka
  • Singar ManiSur Singar Samsad, Mumbai
  • SironamaKolkata
Sharmila Mukerjee mid-movement in a purple and red Odissi costume
Sharmila Mukerjee performing abhinaya, hands framing her face

The artist

A life chosen
by dance.

At sixteen she danced the title role in Tagore's Chandalika in Calcutta, and critics wrote of her inborn grace. In 1984 she began Odissi under Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, training at his home in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

A Top Grade artist of Doordarshan and an Established artist of the ICCR, Sharmila is the first Odissi dancer to receive the Karnataka Kalashree. Her work with hearing-impaired children, from a 50-child Ramayan at the Oral School for Deaf Children in Kolkata to her training with Laban Centre faculty, shows how far she believes dance can reach.

Read her story
42
years of Odissi
2004
Sanjali founded
11
countries performed in
20+
original choreographies

Guru–shishya parampara

In the lineage of Kelubabu

Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra played the mardala himself at her Rangapravesh in 1988. Today she is regarded as one of the pioneers of Odissi in South India, keeping his style alive through her teaching.

“In Bangalore today, the Kelubabu brand of Odissi is left to one individual: Sharmila Mukerjee.” The Narthaki, 2009
  1. 1984

    Begins Odissi under Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra in Kolkata, later training at his home in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

  2. 1988

    Rangapravesh, with Guruji himself playing the mardala. Her solo career begins.

  3. 2000

    Scholarship to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, to study dance movement and composition.

  4. 2004

    Founds Sanjali Centre for Odissi Dance in Bengaluru.

  5. 2016

    Receives the Mahari Award for her contribution to Odissi.

  6. 2018

    Leads the Sanjali Ensemble to Tunisia for the Festival of India.

  7. 2023

    Performs in Seychelles for the ICCR and the Indian High Commission.

Black and white portrait of Sharmila Mukerjee in an Odissi pose

Philosophy

“Dance is indeed the art of living, equanimity and poetry in motion.”

Dance to me is aesthetics; it is a way of life. It is therapeutic, a holistic learning by itself. The joy of learning, teaching, creating, performing and choreographing knows no bounds.

Sharmila Mukerjee

Dancers of the Sanjali Ensemble in flowing white costumes, arms raised like wings

Signature production

Hansika

Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, reimagined in Odissi. A long-held dream of Sharmila's, staged in Bengaluru and at Kamani Auditorium, Delhi.

Choreographies & productions

Stories told in Odissi

All works

On the world stage

Eleven countries, one dance.

From Dover Lane and Konark to the Festival of India abroad, the Sanjali Ensemble is empanelled in the “Outstanding” category by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

Three Odissi dancers of the Sanjali Ensemble in matching poses
  • Italy1997
  • U.S.A.2000
  • Fiji2003
  • Australia2003 · 2016
  • New Zealand2003
  • Malaysia2003 – 2015
  • Turkey2004
  • U.A.E.2006
  • Indonesia2008
  • Tunisia2018
  • Seychelles2023

In the press

“In Bangalore today, the Kelubabu brand of Odissi is left to one individual: Sharmila Mukerjee. This quiet Calcutta talent has made her presence felt with her consistency and dedication.”
The Narthaki · 2009
All reviews & clippings
A dancer with many arms fanned around her, evoking Goddess Durga
Sanjali students in a group formation
The Sanjali Ensemble in performance

Sanjali Centre for Odissi Dance · Est. 2004

Where the tradition is taught

A complete education in Odissi: the technique, the skills, the sadhana and the fulfilment, in the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra style.

  • Classes for all agesJunior and senior batches, twice-yearly workshops, and optional Pracheen Kala Kendra exams leading to Sangeet Visharad.
  • The Sanjali EnsembleThe performing wing, empanelled with the ICCR, presenting thematic Odissi in India and abroad.
  • Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Outreach ProgramScholarships for five students a year from economically weaker communities.

Main Studio · HAL 3rd Stage

1798, 1st Floor, 5th Cross (opp. Miranda School), Jeevan Bhimanagar, Bengaluru 560017

Brookfield · Whitefield

Sriyam Kalamandir Studio, 2nd Floor, Hebron Complex, Borewell Road

Trivandrum

Fusion Wellness Studio, Ambalamukku · Sat 9am, Sun 10am

Admission form Classes, team & branches
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Contact

Begin your journey in Odissi

For classes, performances, workshops and lecture demonstrations, write to us or drop by the studio.

Studio
1798, 1st Floor, 5th Cross, Jeevan Bhimanagar, HAL 3rd Stage
Bengaluru, Karnataka 560017
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