Higher ground

A management professional, an author, a teacher, a mother and an Odissi dancer of unmatched talent, Leesa Mohanty talks to The Guide about her passion for dance and her performance today at the NCPA, which she hopes will elevate the audience to a higher level of consciousness

Higher ground

A multi-faceted personality and an HR consultant by profession, 36 year-old Leesa Mohanty's passion for dance has earned her a name in the field. Being part of an NGO Bansi Bilas, and actively propagating Odissi culture with her elder sister Leena, Mumbai-based Leesa strives to strike a balance between her logical and creative side. She speaks to The Guide about her career and finding spirituality through dance.

How did you strike a balance between your career as a management consultant and dance?
I am passionate about both. I would like to hone both facets, as one is my logical side while the other is my creative side.
For me, it has been a conscious decision to not be obsessed about climbing the ladder or acquire name, fame and power. My passion for dance keeps me grounded.

Bhakti (devotion) is an emotion that pervades all forms of Classical dance. How does one discover spirituality through dance?
Every Classical dance originated in a temple. Bhakti has been an inseparable part of classical dance. For a dancer the stage is a temple. The dance and music elevates her to a higher level of consciousness. In the process, she also elevates the audience to higher spiritual levels. Dance is still used to invoke God. Once you lose yourself in the dance, you are no longer conscious of your body. The body and mind unite to take you to a different state of being.

How has dance shaped your personality?
When I was five, I joined the Raas Leela group started by my father Rabi Narayan Mohanty. I started learning Odissi since I was nine. Whatever I am today is because of dance. The way I talk, behave, carry myself, my beliefs ufffd all of it has been shaped by dance.

What effect can dance or a dancer have on an audience? Can the characters portrayed by the dancer transcend the barriers of space and time?
Even the layman who does not understand Classical dance will feel the spirituality in a performance done with bhakti.

The dancer can take the audience beyond the barriers of the material world. Once after a performance in Malaysia, an old lady came up to me and said this is the first time she is watching a performance for two days in a row. After she had gone home after watching the performance the previous day, her BP dropped from 180 to 120.

You have danced in a temple on several occasions. How has the experience been?
I regularly dance in the Radha-Raman temples in Vridavan, Uttar Pradesh. It is completely different from
dancing for an audience. The joy is inexplicable.

You've actively spread Indian values and culture through your NGO. Do you feel that today's generation is losing an interest in Indian culture?
Today, more people are trying to return to their roots as compared to 10 years ago. Many parents are enrolling their kids for Classical music or dance classes. Others are trying to read the Bhagvatam (an Indian classic describing the life and times of Lord Krishna) and the Vedas.

You have conducted several workshops on Rasa (experience of dance) and Bhava (the expressions used to convey emotions). How does one explore the different bhavas in dance?
When you understand the character you're playing and become one with the character, you portray the bhavas, effectively. The bhavas portrayed by the dancer results in an experience of the audience, which we call Rasa.

The performance at NCPA is titled Ambaa ufffd the feminine force. Is it difficult to portray the strength and power of Shakti though dance?
Ambaa explores the existence of divinity through the feminine form. The leelas (divine plays) of Goddess Kali, the ups and downs Kunti experiences are portrayed in the dance form. We end with Moksha, a piece of
joyful renunciation dedicated to Shakti. Depicting such strength, is extremely overpowering. I lose myself completely and get into a trance. Many times, after I have given a performance I have cried because the emotions are overbearing.

On Today, 7 pm
At Little Theatre, NCPA, NCPA Marg, Nariman Point.
Call 22824567/ 66223724