Meet the Italian dancer who fell in love with India and the art of Odissi

Dr Ileana Citaristi during one of her performances.

She is an Italian passport holder but has been residing in Odissa, India, since 1979. "I am an Italian by nationality but an Odiya at heart said legendary Odissi dancer Padmashri Dr Ileana Citaristi, who will be performing in Dubai at the Global Indian International School, Al Barsha, Dubai, as part of the Utkal Day celebrations.
Citaristi, a native of Bergamo, Italy, spent five years as an actress in traditional and experimental theatre in Italy before deciding to learn Kathakali. She went to Kerala in 1979, where she spent three rigorous months studying Kathakali before she went to Odisha on the advice of her Kathakali guru, Krishnan Namboodari. Since 1979, she has been living in Odisha. She holds a Doctorate of Philosophy with a thesis on 'Psychoanalysis and Eastern Mythology.
Citaristi studied Odissi under Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and started her own school of dance in 1994. She is also an exponent of the Mayurbhanj Chhau, which she learnt under the tutelage of Guru Hari Nayak and holds the title of an Acharya of Chhau from the Sangeet Mahavidyalaya of Bhubaneswar. She founded the Art Vision Academi in 1996, which acts as a platform for sharing ideas between various art forms such as theatre, music, dance and painting. The Academi also conducts classes in Odissi and Chhau.
Talking about her Indian connection, Citaristi said: "When I saw an Indian classical dance performance in Italy, I learnt about its amazing physical grammar. My guru then taught me how every movement had a meaning and a function. This is what I was searching for in my work and how I got connected to the Indian classical dance.
In 1979 I decided I wanted to learn more and planned to stay in Odisha for six months to learn the classical Odissi dance. But those six months changed to six years without me going back to Italy. My only focus was the lane that lead me to my guruji's school where I learnt Odissi."
saman@khaleejtimes.com