SUPRAVA MISHRA

Suprava Mishra took to learning Odissi - one of the 8 classical dance forms of India - at an age too young to even understand what dance meant. She is a renowned exponent of Odissi classical dance. She combines tradition with innovation, classicism with creativity, and the ethnic with contemporary. With her qualities of being extremely innovative, original, creative, and thoughtful, she is a Guru every student aspires to learn from. As a teacher, she has a special quality in shaping the subtle and psychological framework of her students. Suprava believes that dance must be linked to life and artists must use their unique position in society to make a difference in living.

What is your favourite word?
There is one word that has always been close to my heart. The word is also a character - RADHA. Radha lives in me and I believe that I am Radha. I have spent my entire life searching for the Krishna. When I talk to myself, I talk to Krishna. When I perform, Krishna is with me on the stage.

What was the moment in your life that made you Blossom into the person you are today?
I used to learn dance as a kid but I was too young to really understand what I was learning. It was all play to me and it was about doing what my Guru was teaching me. In 1990, I met my husband for the first time. Seeing me dance, he told me that he liked watching me dance. In our conversations, I used to explain to my husband the meaning of my dance.

During those conversations, talking about things that came right from my heart - I felt deep inside that I was born to pursue this. And that I was born to be Radha. I think those conversations were the defining moments that made me the person I am today.

What would you want the young boys & girls to learn from your journey?
If I have to put it in one word, it's "time management". People always ask me during interviews, how I manage my time among personal life, work-life, and my dance career. I gather energy from one place and use it in another place. When I am spending time with my family, I am not spending energy, I gather energy that my family time gives me and use it at my work. It is the same with work, there is a certain energy that it gives me which I carry to my dance, and the energy I gather from my dance, I take it into my personal life.

I always strive to live a complete life and I'm glad my students take that as inspiration from me. They perform amazingly well not just in their dance, but also in their studies.