Ileana Citaristi Odissi and Chhau dancer Profile

Italian by birth Ileana holds a Doctorate in Philosophy with a thesis on 'Psychoanalysis and eastern mythology'. She has come to Indian dance after years of experience in the traditional as well as experimental theatre in Europe.

Ileana has been living in Orissa, India, since the year 1979 in close contact with the people, their language and culture. Her mentor in the Odissi dance style is the renown Guru, Padma Vibhushan Kelucharan Mohapatra.

She is equally at home with the different martial postures of the Chhau dance of Mayurbhanji which she has learnt under the guidance of Guru Shri Hari Nayak, obtaining the title of ‘Acharya’ from the Sangeet Mahavidyalya of Bhubaneswar in Orissa.

Her contributions, besides the many performances and lecture-demonstrations given in all the major centres in India, include articles on Oriya culture published in Indian and foreign magazines, research work for film-documentaries on Odissi and Chhau dances and practical dance workshops for dancers and theatre workers which she regularly conducts under invitation by different institutions in India and abroad. She has given performances in all the major dance festivals in India as well as in Italy, Argentina, Poland, France, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Hong Kong, Japan, USA,Australia and Israel.

Her innovative choreographies in Mayurbhanji Chhau include the Greek myth ‘Echo and Narcissus’, which was a revelation at the East-West Dance Encounter held in Bombay in April 1985, ‘The Wreck’ (December 1988), ‘Icarus’ (July 1991), ‘Pancha Bhuta’ (January 1996), ‘The Journey’ (September 1998), ‘Images of Change’ (March 2000), ‘Surya devata’ (December 2001), ‘Jarjara’ (January 2003),'Still I rise' (February, 2005) and in Odissi style the ballet ‘Maya Darpan’ premiered at Nehru Center in Bombay in April 1993. 'Dasa Mahavidya' (1999), 'Ganga Yamuna' (2005), 'Exploration' and 'Tantra' (2006), 'Saraha' ,'Bolero' and 'Rhydhum'(2007),‘Mahanadi and the river flows’ and ‘Sparsha’ (2008) 'Bhagavad Gita' and 'Belaboli pallavi' (2009),'Karuna' (2010), 'Maana Bhajana' (2011), 'Kaala - Timebound' (2012).

‘A’ grade artist from Cuttack Television, Ileana has been awarded the prestigious title ‘Leonide Massine for the art of dance’ in Italy in September 1992 and the ‘Raseshwar’ award by the Sur Singar Sansad, Bombay, in December 1994. In May 1996 she won the ‘National Award for best choreography’ for her dance direction to the Bengali film ‘Yugant’ directed by Aparna Sen. In 2009 she has recieved the Pandit Jasraj award from the Rotary club of Hyderabad and the ORDER of the Star of Italian Solidarity from President of Italy.

She has conducted a research on the Martial Art of Orissa under the aegis of the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts in 1991 and in 1996 she has been granted a senior Fellowship by the Dept. of Culture, Government of India, for writing a book on Kelucharan Mohapatra’s life. The book titled ‘The making of a guru’ has been published by Manohar and released in New Delhi, in April 2001.