Colombo, Media and Communications

In conversation with Bijayini Satpathy, Director of the Odissi Gurukul at Nrityagram

Bijayini Satpathy is Director of the Odissi Gurukul at Nrityagram. This was an interview produced for and broadcast on TV in Sri Lanka, complementing the ½ hour interview I recorded and conducted for Groundviews in July 2009.

Expanding on some of the issues we talked about a year ago, Bijayini shared her views on how she negotiates, through her dance and in the interpretation of the form, the contest between modernity and tradition, her life and work at Nrityagram and what makes the school so special. We also talk about the parallels between Indian and Sri Lankan dance forms in general and her association with the Chitrasena and Vajira Kalayathanaya.