Bijayini Satpathy
“She’s easily among the top five dancers I’ve ever seen in my lifetime”
Bijayini Satpathy was nominated for the Bessies in 2020 for her work “Kalpana-The World of Imagination”. During the 2020-21 pandemic Bijayini was commissioned by Baryshnikov Arts Centre, USA and premiered her very first original choreography, Vibhanga – broken and rebuilt. In 2021, she premiered a full length solo work — ‘Call of Dawn’ commissioned by Sampadraya Dance Creations, Canada and presented her students in three duets and a solo called ‘Pranati – An obeisance’ commissioned by ChitraKaavya Dance, USA. The New York City Center invited Bijayini in 2021 to be a part of their second edition of Studio 5 online series curated by Alastair Macaulay. As a part of this series, Bijayini along with her senior student Sooraj Subramaniam presented the Arasaa – a non narrative rhythmic feature characterised by its unique composition of intricate elements of the form.
Currently she is working on a full length solo work ‘Abhipsaa – A seeking’ commissioned by Duke Performances at Duke University & Baryshnikov Dance Center (BAC). Additional support for ‘Abhipsaa – A seeking’ was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. She is also the 2021-22 Artist in Residence for the Metropolitan Museum of the Art, New York
Hailed by The New Yorker as “a performance of exquisite grace and technique,” Bijayini Satpathy is the former principal dancer of the famed Nrityagram Dance Ensemble for 25 years until 2018. She has shared a unique partnership with Nrityagram’s Artistic Director and Choreographer, Surupa Sen in all her original works in the last two decades and has contributed to them with her skill as a performer, scholar and designer. Her duets with Surupa Sen are considered singularly admirable and exemplary. Their duet ‘Vibhakta’ was rated as one of the best dance performances of 2008 by Joan Acocella in the New Yorker and had received a Bessie nomination in 2009. Their partnership was listed as one of three unique dance partnerships in the New York Times in 2017.
Bijayini has been hailed as a trailblazer for paving new pathways through her intense research into the pedagogy of Odissi as the former Director of Training of Nrityagram school for 20 years. She is instrumental in delineating a unique training vocabulary in Odissi which is known and practiced as Nrityagram’s Pedagogy. Bijayini was invited as the Regents Residency Lecturer, Department of World Arts & Cultures/Dance to UCLA in 2015 to share her research on Odissi. She is also the architect of a fun, energising and much loved training method for children. She has developed a unique online method of training and mentors established dancers from various parts of the world.
Recognition & Awards
Bessie Nomination for Outstanding Performer, 2020
Best Dance, Dance Magazine, 2019 (USA)
Nritya Choodamani, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai, 2011, India
Yagna Raman Award, 2010, India
Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, 2007, India
The Sanskriti Award for Excellence, 2006, India
Mahari Award, 2003, India
Contacts:
Bijayini Satpathy
(91) 98452 10628
dancebijayini@gmail.com
www.bijayini.dance
Masoom Parmar
Management/Bookings (India)
masoommparmar@gmail.com
(91) 78292 54973
www.masoomparmar.com
Claudia Norman
Management/Bookings (International and North America)
claunorman@gmail.com
(917) 405-1537
Notable Performances:
Virtual/Online:
• ChitraKaavya Dance, 2021
• Sampradaya Dance, Canada, 2021
• Baryshnikov Art Centre, USA, 2021
• Virtual Battery Dance Festival, 2020
Live:
• Drive East, NY & SF, 2019
• George Mason University, WDC, 2019
• Rose Wagner Theatre, SLC, 2019
• De Bartalo PAC, Notre Dame University, IN, 2019
• Khajuraho Festival, India
• Konak Festival, India
• Krishna Gana Sabha, India
• Madras Music Academy, India
• White Light Festival, USA, 2017
• South Bank Centre Festival, London, 2017
• Fall For Dance, USA, Duet – 2014, 2016
• Fall For Dance, Toronto, Duet – 2016
• Dancing for the Gods, USA, 2015
• Baryshnikov Arts Centre, USA, 2015
• Joyce Theatre Series, USA, 2005, 2008, 2012
• The Edinburgh International Festival, 2010
• Spoletto Festival, USA, 2006
• Jacob’s Pillow, USA, 2006
• Holland & Belgium Performance Series, 2005 & 2003
Women and the Critical Eye: The Intersection of Performance and Art
Bijayini Satpathy was invited by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY to be a part of their widely acclaimed annual series “Women and the Critical Eye”. The series supports a greater understanding of and appreciation for works of art through the lens of expert women collectors, connoisseurs, artists, and Museum professionals.
Bijayini Satpathy was in conversation with Sarah Arison, Board Chair, YoungArts and Lauren Rosati, Assistant Curator, Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art and Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, moderated by Limor Tomer, Lulu C. and Anthony W. Wang General Manager of Live Arts.
View the conversation here.
Reviews of CALL OF DAWN, 2021
“The strength and simultaneous fluidity of movements that come with ease are indicative of years of conditioning the body to be in complete sync with itself and the mind that creates.”
https://narthaki.com/info/rev21/rev2590.html
Bijayini Satpathy in news
“Bijayini’s new solo explores the mind of a woman” Interview by Parshathy J Nath, The Hindu, May 2021
“Bijayini Satpathy on her transformative year” Interview by Marina Harss, Fjord Review, Jan 2021
“A great Odissi dancer conjures Gods and Demons alone” Interview by Marina Harss, The New York Times, Aug 2020
Reviews of KALPANA, 2019
“Best dance of 2019”, Dance Magazine, 2019
“Bijayini Satpathy’s technique is extraordinarily vivid.”
The New Yorker, 2019
“Bijayini Satpathy, was one of the most beautiful technicians and performers to have ever graced a stage.”
lovedancemore.org/reviews/2019
“Satpathy’s dancing combines propulsion, dynamics, refined musicality, and absolute legibility. Watching her, one feels that the language of odissi is deeply alive, urgent, and universal, like all great art-forms.”
dancetabs.com/2019
“The combination of Satpathy’s perfectionist attention to detail, physical strength, musicality, ability to be simultaneously grounded and airy, her unwavering balance, and control at all times of every inch of her body would be admired by any dancer; but it is her facial expressions, and more specifically, the power of her gaze, which make her a truly compelling performer.”
lovedancemore.org/reviews/2019
“Time stood still as we witnessed a dancer at the top of her powers transform herself physically and metaphorically into an array of characters without the slightest hint of exaggeration or artifice. Bijayini’s technique and artistry fit her like a second skin.”
dance-enthusiast.com/2019
