Mitra Purkayastha.

BIOGRAPHY

Hailing from a family of musicians and artists, Mitra Purkayastha has had the privilege of training with some of the most famous gurus of Kolkata. From an early age, she started learning classical vocal music under the guidance of her parents. Guru Deborah Biswas and Smt. Maya Sen further trained her in Rabindra Sangeet.

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Mitra’s Odissi training began with Guru Padmasri Murlidhar Majhi. She has trained extensively with him for many years and continues to seek his guidance and blessings in all her endeavors. Besides Odissi, Mitra has learnt Manipuri under Guru Khelendra Mukherjee, Kathak and Bharatnatyam under Guru Shantinarayan Bose. In India, she has worked with the late Manjusri Chaki Sirkar's dance troupe, Dancers Guild specializing in creative contemporary choreography. She was one of the principal dancers of the troupe. Mitra has many dance degrees under her belt- Sangeet Prabharak, Sangeet Visharad and Sangeet Sudharak.

She holds a Masters degree in Indian History and English from Calcutta University and a Masters and M. Litt in European History from Drew University. Having performed for many years as a soloist, Mitra had the right training to venture into teaching. She conducted classes in Houston and Minnesota before relocating to New Jersey. In 2007, she celebrated 20 years of her dance school, Rhythms of Dance and Music. On this occasion, she collaborated with the renowned Toronto based choreographer, Sukalyan Bhattacharya to put up a very successful show. In April 2009, Mitra and her students won the first prize at the prestigious dance festival, Zalak hosted by Marathi Vishwa in Princeton, NJ.

Mitra has a highly successful career in the world of dance as well as in the publishing industry. She follows the Japanese Suzuki model-early beginning, parental participation and rote learning. Her firm belief that age is no barrier to learning dance has encouraged many mother-daughter duos to learn together. With tireless passion, Mitra has been training many a dancer in the tri-state area. Her varied dance background and amazing enthusiasm has helped shape the life of many young talents.