Surupa Sen, a dancer of the Nrityagram ensemble, is famous for which dance form?

Explanation

Surupa Sen is a celebrated Odissi dancer and choreographer, and the artistic director of the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble, based at Nrityagram, a dance village near Bengaluru in Karnataka.

Nrityagram was founded in 1990 by the dancer Protima Gauri Bedi (1948-1998), who wanted to create a traditional gurukul (residential school) where students would live with their teachers and devote themselves fully to dance. It was set up in the countryside at Hesaraghatta, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, and it was designed by the architect Gerard da Cunha. Students at Nrityagram study dance along with yoga, martial arts, music, literature and other subjects, in a natural setting. Surupa Sen was one of the first students to join Nrityagram, and she trained in Odissi under Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and Protima Bedi. Together with Bijayini Satpathy, another leading dancer of Nrityagram, she created many acclaimed works that combined the classical Odissi tradition with new ideas, and the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble performed widely in the United States, Europe and Asia, receiving high praise from international critics. The ensemble also collaborated with the Chitrasena Dance Company of Sri Lanka on productions such as "Samhara". Surupa Sen has received several awards for her choreography.

Odissi is the classical dance of Odisha, known for its chauka and tribhanga postures, its sculptural poses and its link with Lord Jagannath and the Gita Govinda.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Kathak is associated with dancers such as Birju Maharaj and Kumudini Lakhia.
• ✗Bharatanatyam is associated with dancers such as Rukmini Devi Arundale and Alarmel Valli.
• ✗Kathakali is associated with artists such as Kalamandalam Gopi.