Ileana Citaristi, an Italian-born dancer, received the Padma Shri in 2006 for her contribution to which dance?

Explanation

Ileana Citaristi, a dancer born in Italy who has made Odisha her home, received the Padma Shri in 2006 for her contribution to Odissi. She was one of the first foreign-born dancers to receive this honour for an Indian classical dance.

Ileana Citaristi was born in 1950 in Bergamo, Italy. She studied philosophy and worked in experimental theatre in Europe before coming to India in the late 1970s. She was drawn to Odissi and became a disciple of the great guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, under whom she trained for many years. She also learnt Mayurbhanj Chhau, the martial dance of Odisha, from Guru Hari Nayak. She settled in Bhubaneswar and founded an institution called Art Vision, where she teaches Odissi and Chhau and creates new choreographic works. She has performed widely in India and abroad and has written books, including a biography of Kelucharan Mohapatra. She won the National Film Award for Best Choreography for the film "Yugant" (1995), directed by Aparna Sen, becoming the first person of foreign origin to win that award.

Odissi is the classical dance of Odisha. Its roots lie in the temple dance of the maharis and the dance of the gotipuas. It was revived in the 1950s by gurus such as Kelucharan Mohapatra, Pankaj Charan Das, Deba Prasad Das and Mayadhar Raut. Odissi is known for its two basic postures, the chauka and the tribhanga, and its graceful, sculpturesque movements, which resemble the carvings of the temples of Odisha. Other famous Odissi dancers include Sanjukta Panigrahi, Sonal Mansingh, Protima Bedi and Madhavi Mudgal.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Kathak is the classical dance of North India.
• ✗Bharatanatyam is the classical dance of Tamil Nadu.
• ✗Kathakali is the dance-drama of Kerala.