Ileana Citaristi | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | Ileana Citaristi |
| Origin | Odisha, India |
| Genres | Odissi |
| Occupation(s) | Odissi andChhau dancer,performer and dance instructor |
| Website | ileana |
Ileana Citaristi is an ItalianOdissi andChhau dancer, and dance instructor based inBhubaneswar, India. She was awarded the43rdNational Film Awards forBest Choreography forYugant in 1995 and became, in 2006, the first dancer of foreign origin to be conferred thePadma Shri for her contributions to Odissi.[1]
Citaristi, a native ofBergamo,Italy,[2] the daughter of Severino Citaristi, a leadingpolitician of theDemocrazia Cristianaparty of Italy.[3][4] She spent five years as an actress in traditional and experimental theatre in Italy before deciding to learn Kathakali.[5]
She went toKerala, where she spent three rigorous months studyingKathakali before she went toOdisha on the advice of her Kathakali guru, Krishnan Namboodari.[6]
Since 1979, she has been living in Odisha.[7] She holds aDoctorate of Philosophy with a thesis on 'Psychoanalysis and Eastern Mythology'.[8]
Citaristi studied Odissi underGuru Kelucharan Mohapatra and started her own school of dance in 1994.[2] Citaristi is also an exponent of theMayurbhanj Chhau, which she learnt under the tutelage of Guru Hari Nayak and holds the title of an acharya of Chhau from the Sangeet Mahavidyalya of Bhubaneswar.[9] She founded the Art Vision Academy in 1996, which acts as a platform for sharing ideas between various artistic forms such as theatre, music, dance and painting. The Academi also conducts classes in Odissi and Chhau.[10]
Ileana Citaristi is noted for her innovative choreographic productions in Odissi and Chhau that bring together themes and styles from both the West and the East. In Chhau, some of her notable productions are ‘Echo and Narcissus' based on the Greek myth inOvid's Metamorphoses, ‘The Journey' that draws on Japanesehaiku, ‘Images of Change' based on the Chinese concept ofYin and Yang and ‘Still I Rise' based onMaya Angelou's eponymous poem.[7] In Odissi, 'Maya Darpan', 'Mahanadi: and the river flows', about the history and cultural geography of Orissa,[8] 'Karuna', based on the life ofMother Teresa[7] and Sharanam, a piece on women from three faiths who attain salvation despite their dubious pasts,[11] are some of her notable compositions.
Besides Yugantar, a Bengali film directed byAparna Sen for which she won aNational Film Award in 1996, Citaristi has also choreographed forM. F. Husain'sMeenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities (2004)[12] andGoutam Ghose'sAbar Aranye (2003).[13]Citaristi is also the author of three books. In 2001, she publishedThe Making of a Guru: Kelucharan Mohapatra, his Life and Times in 2012 theTraditional Martial Practices in Orissa and in 2016My Journey, a Tale of Two Births.[7][10]
Citaristi is a ´Top´ grade artist ofDoordarshan. She was conferred the title of ´Leonide Massine for the art of dance' in 1992. In 1996, she won theNational Film Award for Best Choreography for her work inAparna Sen's Bengali filmYugant (1995).[14][15] She is empanelled as ‘outstanding artist’ in ICCR.[16]
She is also a recipient of the ´Raseshwar Award' given by the Sur Singar Sansad, Mumbai.[8][10] For her contributions to Odissi, she was conferred thePadma Shri byGovernment of India in 2006.[17] The Italian government made her a member of theOrder of the Star of Italian Solidarity in 2008.[5]
..state:orissa;Country India
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