Ratikant Mohapatra Biography 
Ratikant Mohapatra is a well-known classical dancer of Odissi dance form. He is also a dance teacher and choreographer of classical dance forms. He learnt the Odissi dance form from his father, doyen Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and is married to Sujata Mohapatra who is also an artist and choreographer of the same art form. Sujata is a disciple of his father at Odissi Research Center in Bhubaneshwar since late 1990s, and currently owns an Odissi Institute - Guru Keerti Srjan, in her hometown, Balasore, opened in 2011. Their daughter Preetisha Mohapatra is also an Odissi dancer. Ratikant Mohapatra organized, choreographed and directed 555 Odissi dancers to perform at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, and their performance was entered in the Guinness Book of World Records.
He was born in Cuttack on 24 December 1965 into an artistic family. His father Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra is a doyen of Odissi dance form of the 20th century, and his mother’s name is Laxmipriya Mohapatra. Ratikant got inclined to music and dance forms quite at a young age, and later he decided to choose the path followed by his father. He received training from his father, and later earned a name of his own. Since his early 20s, he had a distinguished career as a dancer as well as choreographer. Currently he owns many students, from India and other foreign countries, who study and perform under him. He also choreographs dance shows for India and abroad.
France- Festival of India and International Mime Festival, Canada- Society of Fine Arts & Dance Academy of Ms Meneka Thakkar, Japan - Festival of India etc are some of the international festivals in which he performed. He is a recipient of numerous honours such as "Nritya Shiromani" by Utkal Yuva Sanskrutik Sangh at Cuttack, "Nrutya Bhushan" by International Dance & Theatre Festival 2005 at Cuttack, "Sanjukta Panigrahi Samman" by Sanjukta Panigrahi Memorial Trust, Bhubaneswar, 2005 and many more.
Published: July 23, 2018
Updated: July 23, 2018
