Oopali Operajita

🪔 About

Oopali Operajita is a distinguished Indian classical dancer and choreographer, specializing in both Odissi and Bharatanatyam. Born into a scholarly family in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, she is recognized as a virtuoso performer. Operajita began her dance training at the age of six, studying Bharatanatyam in the Pandanallur style under gurus S. Meenakshi and Veena G. Visalakshi at Rishi Valley School for nine years. Concurrently, she received initial Odissi instruction from Guru Debaprasad Das for five years, and later trained intensively for twelve continuous years with the legendary Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. She also studied with Guru Pankaj Charan Das for two years. Operajita debuted professionally in Bharatanatyam at age eleven. Her career highlights include performing lead roles opposite her guru Kelucharan Mohapatra in landmark productions like "Konarka" when he returned to the stage after a twenty-year hiatus. She has performed extensively worldwide, including at Symphony Space on Broadway and was the first classical Indian artist to perform at Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh. Operajita is also an accomplished choreographer, with innovative Odissi pieces set to music by Padma Vibhushan Pandit Chhannulal Mishra since 1979. She served as the artistic director and choreographer for a concert hosted by India's President for U.S. President Barack Obama in 2010. Beyond dance, Operajita is a polymath with significant academic and public policy roles. Appointed a Distinguished Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University in 1990, she has held faculty positions in its College of Fine Arts and earned an MA in Professional Writing there, alongside degrees from Delhi University and Dalhousie University. She has served as a senior advisor on public policy and international affairs to Indian parliamentary leaders. In 2007, she founded and chairs the Al Gore Sustainable Technology Venture Competition, Asia's first major competition of its kind, fostering clean energy innovations across institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology. She is also a columnist for The Indian Express, focusing on policy, communication, and global relations. Awards & Honours: Top Ranked Artist of the Younger Generation (1982), Top Ranked Odissi Dancer of the Younger Generation, Singar Mani, Canada Council Arts Award, Senior Performing Arts Fellowship, Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Fellowship, National Science Talent Scholar, National Scholar, Chancellor's Prize Winner for Debating.