Twelve-year-old Odissi dancer Sayanthana Mohan recently performed at the famous Khajuraho Festival in Madhya Pradesh. She is also the only Goan student for the Cultural Talent Search Scholarship Scheme 2025-2026

DIANA FERNANDES| NT KURIOCITY

Odissi is often characterised by its lyrical, graceful body movements and has distinct Tribhangi postures. The dance form combines intricate footwork, graceful torso movements and emotional facial expressions while the Tribhangi pose represents an S-shaped form resembling sculptures.

It is this traditional classical art form that most appealed to Sayanthana. At the age of four, she began learning Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi from her mother Archana Mohan, who is also a classical trained dancer.

“While I was learning these dance forms, I was researching the Tribhangi pose and I found Odissi which really appealed to me. I saw performances and I felt connected to it in some way. I told my mother that I have to learn this and she found teachers who taught me,” says Sayanthana.

She began learning the basics for two years with Dr. Tulika Tripathy who was based in Bhubaneshwar and is currently learning both theory and practical of the art form under Dr. Pompi Paul, based in West Bengal. She is also currently learning Kuchipudi under Guru Yamini Kalluri, who is based in New York.

Even though all the classes are online based and with timings varying from early morning to the evenings, her love for the dance form is what keeps Sayanthana going.

The most important aspect of learning and performing this dance form, Sayanthana says, is practice. Ideally, a half hour to one hour practice is what she aims for but during injuries and exams, she tries to bring in at least 15 to 20 minutes of practice. Longer practices before a performance is a must, she says.

Her first performance was at the All India Dancers Association (AIDA), Kannur, Kerala in 2023 when she was nine years old. She has performed all over India including at the Delhi Odissi Utsav; Pune Odissi Utsav; IIDF Bhubaneswar; Margazhi Festival; Bharat Nrithyolsav 100 days festival at Peringottukara Devasthanam, Thrissur , Kerala; Kalpataru Dance Festival, West Bengal and Kalpavriksh Dance Festival, Goa. Her most recent performance was at the Khajuraho Dance Festival this year, which is considered as one of the best stages for classical dance festivals.

The festival itself has two sections, one for the grown-ups and the other for the younger dancers, the Rashtriya Bal Nritya Mahotsav where Sayanthana performed.

“It was a last minute decision to apply for Khajuraho Dance Festival. While we were researching, my dance teacher also sent us the application link and my brother also encouraged me to apply. It seemed like the universe was telling me I should apply. I was a little scared at the festival because I had to keep up to the level at the festival, but it was an amazing opportunity,” she says.

Earlier last week, she also received confirmation of being selected to receive the CCRT Junior Scholarship in 2025-26, a central government scholarship programme for under 14, considered one of the hardest to crack.

“I am grateful to my teachers, my parents and brother for inspiring me to answer the exam and I am proud of myself. I was in Class 7 when I answered the CCRT exam in Pune. They ask about theory as well as practical aspects of dance,” says the dancer who is also a budding artist, loves singing. In fact, she has already sung in eight languages: Malayalam, English, Konkani, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali and looks forward to adding more languages to the repertoire.

The youngster, who dreams of being a pilot when she grows up, adds that this is just the beginning and she has a lot more to learn and improve on. “Once I am old enough, I would like to give this knowledge to others,” she says, adding that her brother is one of her biggest inspirations.  “Growing up I used to see my brother and how he used to buy his own stuff with his earned money. He started earning at the age of 17. He is also a gold medalist in Olympiads and our house is filled with his medals and trophies. I used to be sad that I didn’t have a single one. With dance, today I have 68 trophies!” beams Sayanthana.