It is not difficult to spot Nitisha Nanda in a group of dancers. The disciple of Odissi exponent Sharon Lowen stands out with her well-defined movements and evocative expressions that, when put together, tell a story, often from Hindu mythology.
In one of her recent performances at Odissi Amrit by Manasa, Art Without Frontiers, Nanda reenacted the heart-wrenching prayer of 17th-century Muslim poet Salabega, who invokes Lord Jagannath to alleviate his troubles like he (in different avatars) did for Gajendra, the elephant king, by protecting him from the crocodile; saving Prahlad from his wicked father Hiranyakashyap; rescuing Draupadi after the Pandavas lost to Kauravas in the game of dice. In a matter of five minutes, Nanda dramatically captures Vishnu’s grace, Narasimha’s wrath and Krishna’s benevolence as she performs, alongside her partner, to the tune of Ahe Nila Saila in raga Pahari and taal Jati, a recreation of a composition originally choreographed by legendary Odissi guru Kelucharan Mohapatra.
“Emotion is a big part of my dance. I don’t mean it just in the sense of how the choreography looks. It could also be conceptual, or the choice of song, for that matter. It allows me to work with a lot of expressions,” says the 32-year-old, who started learning Odissi when she was four. Her first guru was Harekrushna Behera, following whose death, she came under the tutelage of Ipsita Behoora. It was on the latter’s recommendation that she finally became a disciple of Lowen.
While Odissi has been the foundation of her career, it is the exposure to several other dance forms that have enriched her presence as a dancer. Nanda has trained in Rajasthani folk dance and contemporary dance, but the alternative form that has truly stuck is belly dancing. For her, both Odissi and belly dancing seem to fit like pieces of a puzzle. While Odissi is heavy on footwork, hand gestures and torso movements, it has no hips, which belly dancing makes up for.
Though purists have perennially been critical of blending the classical arts with other forms, Delhi-based Nanda says she found “only support” in her gurus. She performed her first fusion in 2011. “I never felt I am doing something wrong. Over the years, both my mind and body have developed in their understanding of different dance forms, which is why I don’t like to think of fusion as a combination of just two forms anymore. I no longer limit myself to any particular dance style. It simply depends on the language that seems fit for a particular musical piece or concept,” she says, adding, “I’m a traditionalist with a modern approach.”