Aayna Mohanty needs no introduction. At the age of 11, she is already an established Odissi dancer. She has been mesmerising audiences with her outstanding performances for the last five years. She not only performs like an experienced dancer, but also has the perfect expressions, an integral part of any classical dance form. Aayna has won the Nrutya Koumudi award, best Odissi dancer award in the junior category at the International Dance & Music Olympiad 2017 and the Nrutya Shree award at Cuttack Mahotsav. The little danseuse talks to Orissa POST about her passion for Odissi.
A Class VI student of ODM Public School, Aayna was introduced to Odissi dance at the tender age of four. Since then, Odissi has been an integral part of her life. Over the years, she has learned to strike a balance between academics and dance. Her mother says, “When she was a toddler, she used to follow the dance movements of Odissi exponents and often dance to the tunes of lyrics. While children of her age loved watching cartoons, she used to watch Odissi dance programmes. She was passionate about the classical dance form. When she was in UKG, she started taking Odissi lessons at school. However, her formal training started at the age of seven under the tutelage of Odissi exponent and Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar awardee Sonali Mohapatra. She has been creating waves with her performances in cultural programmes held in and around the state capital.”
Aayna Mohanty recounts an interesting incident. “At my first performance at the International Dance & Music Olympiad in Cuttack, I was a little nervous as I was the youngest one in the junior section. After my performance, we left for Bhubaneswar without waiting for the prize ceremony. To our surprise, my mother got a call from the organiser who told her that I had bagged the best Odissi dancer award in the junior category. It boosted my confidence and taught me to give my best always.”
Daughter of Mathematics professor Pradip Kumar Mohanty and homemaker Suryasnata Das, Aayna Mohanty has been nominated by her school to go to Lucknow for a cultural event scheduled to be held in January 2019. That apart, she has been selected to receive the Nrutya Bharati award.
Aayna Mohanty wants to become a doctor. “Apart from being known as an Odissi exponent, I want to be a doctor so that I can serve poor people who have difficulty getting quality healthcare.”
Asked what attracts her to this classical dance form, she says, “I love abhinaya. I believe this dance becomes whole with music and the abhinaya of the performers. Abhinaya makes it beautiful and meaningful.”
Offbeat profile
Favourite food: Pani puri
Favourite place: Home sweet home
Favourite dancer: Sonali Mohapatra
Inspiration: Mother
RASHMI REKHA DAS, OP
