Bijayini Satpathy

Bijayini Satpathy is one of the most widely recognised soloists in Odissi, the classical dance form of Odisha. She began dancing at seven in Bhubaneswar, studying at the Institute of Integral Education and then at Orissa Dance Academy, founded by Guru Gangadhar Pradhan, which she credits with giving her a technical foundation and practice discipline.

In 1993 Nrityagram founder Protima Gauri (Protima Bedi) selected her for the dance village near Bengaluru, where she stayed 25 years, until 2018. She made her solo debut in 1997 and became a principal dancer of the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble, touring internationally alongside artistic director Surupa Sen. She spent 20 of those years as director of dance training, building a body-conditioning programme for Odissi dancers drawn from yoga, the Natyashastra, kalaripayattu and Western fitness methods.

She left Nrityagram in 2018 to work as a soloist and choreographer. Her first self-choreographed work, Abhipsaa - A Seeking, was commissioned by Duke Performances and Baryshnikov Arts Center. She was artist-in-residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2021-22 and a fellow at NYU's Center for Ballet and the Arts in 2023-24.

Her awards include the Sangeet Natak Akademi's Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar (2006), the Yagnaraman Award (2008), the Nritya Choodamani title from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in Chennai, a New York Dance and Performance (Bessie) Award in 2020, and a Dance Magazine Award in 2023. Dance Magazine named her best solo dancer of 2019.