(originally published in the New Indian Express, June, 2011)
Indian Express: Where were you born and how was your childhood influenced by the art and culture of your country?
Amanda: I was born in Columbus, Ohio, USA. I began performing in the theatre at an early age and I also had a wonderful teacher in class three who introduced us students to opera music, so I was lucky to get exposure to a variety of art forms.
Indian Express: How did you get into learning Odissi?
Amanda: I started learning Odissi under Guru Jyoti Rout in San Francisco in 2000. I had an interest in Indian culture and philosophy since my teens and Indian classical dance was the perfect blend of performing art and spirituality.
Indian Express: Since what age have you been learning Odissi dance? Have you learnt any other forms of dance including Oriental or anything else?
Amanda: I have been learning Odissi for the last 10 years. I haven’t seriously studied any other dance form.
Indian Express: Under whose guidance did you start learning Odissi? How did your guru shape you and help you in becoming a popular dancer in the country?
Amanda: I started learning under Guru Jyoti Rout in the USA. In her troupe, Jyoti Kala Mandir, I had the opportunity to perform with a wonderful group of dancers. It was a nice community. Since 2006, I have been studying under Smt. Sujata Mohapatra at Srjan, Bhubaneswar. She is an excellent teacher with a very good eye. She has helped me tremendously to understand Odissi technique and has guided me very clearly in every respect.
Indian Express: Who all have been your support In India? How do you manage in a foreign country, your stay, problems in adjustment with an alien land, its culture , food and people?
Amanda: My dance guru, Smt. Sujata Mohapatra is my biggest support. She is very caring and always looks after her students’ needs. Without her I never would have been able to manage for so long in Orissa. I also appreciate the network of support which I have received through the many dancers who are also disciples of the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra gharana. At Srjan I have made many lasting friendships not only among the many foreign students who like me have travelled to India to learn Odissi, but also among the extended family of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra’s disciples and their disciples. I have made friends with dancers in Bhubaneswar as well as the other major cities of India and I feel very welcomed by the larger Odissi community.
Indian Express: Do you still learn Odissi or have you started imparted training to the young ones?
Amanda: I am still very much a student and I have much more to learn.
Indian Express: Who all have been your inspiration?
Amanda: Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Smt. Sanjukta Panigrahi, Smt. Sujata Mohapatra
Indian Express: Any choreographic compositions yet?
Amanda: No
Indian Express: How much have you been appreciated by the critics and audience in general here? Any memorable event when someone from the audience has come up to you to appreciate your performance or given you a special comment?
Amanda: I am always happy if people become happy while watching my dance. I have definitely received support from critics and audience members which I appreciate. However, I always try to take both praise and blame with a cool head. I know that my teacher is the biggest critic. If she is in the audience then I feel more pressure to keep her name and to do justice to her guru’s work. I also always feel that there are many great Odissi dancers today and I hope that each will get the credit which they deserve.
Indian Express: Any favourite dance composition close to your heart and the reason?
Amanda: It is difficult to choose a favourite. I love watching Sujata apa perform Hamsadhwani Pallavi, Kede Chhanda and Sakhi He. I don’t think I will ever get tired of seeing those items. For myself, I love Oriya abhinaya and I enjoy dancing Patha Chari Dei. I also love dancing pallavis because I enjoy the different moods of the ragas.
Indian Express: How have your countrymen reacted to your performances and how have you been appreciated in other countries?
Amanda: In the US one has to explain a lot more about the meaning of the dance. When people understand it, then they appreciate both the beauty and the theatricality of Odissi. In the US the Oriya community are big supporters of Odissi dance and I have had a good response from them.
Indian Express: How did you learn and understand Sanskrit and Oriya to communicate the abhinayas to your audience. How much time did it take you to learn the language?
Amanda: I am slowly learning Oriya which helps me a lot to communicate in dance and in everyday life. I have been learning Oriya for as long as I have been learning Odissi. Both of my Odissi gurus have helped me with the language as well. Sujata apa has been teaching me to read and write Oriya which is a big step. With my mardala guru, Guru Banamali Maharana, I also speak only in Oriya, which is good practice for me.
Amanda Geroy-Profile
Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu Guru Deva Maheshwara Guru Sakshat Parambrahma Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha
Amanda is a devotee whose love for God finds expression in Odissi dance. While dancing, she comes before God with an offering of her body, mind, and heart.
Amanda has been a life-long artist. Excelling since childhood at visual arts, drama and dance, Amanda began her performing career at the age of six. She was involved in theater for many years and received a bachelor’s degree in theater from Northwestern University in Chicago where she also majored in Russian language and literature. She has performed throughout the U.S. in cities such as Nashville, Detroit, Chicago, San Francisco, Santa Fe and Off-Broadway in New York. She has received scholarships and honors for her excellence in theater and academics and was given the opportunity to study in Russia for eight months.
When she came to San Francisco, California in 1999, Amanda met her first Odissi guru, Guru Jyoti Rout. In Odissi Amanda found a perfect blend of devotion and artistry and she began immediately to devote herself whole-heartedly to studying the art form. In 2000 Amanda spent six months intensively studying in India under the direction of Guru Jyoti Rout and Guru Padma Charan Dehury. During that time Amanda also studied Odissi mardala drum and Oriya language and immersed herself in Oriya culture. Amanda followed up with a second trip to India in 2001 for two months. Amanda finally shifted to India on a long-term basis in December of 2006. Since that time she has been living in Orissa and training under the guidance of Srimati Sujata Mohapatra at Srjan, Bhubaneswar. She also currently studies mardala under eminent guru Banamali Maharana.
Amanda feels quite fortunate to have studied under two Odissi gurus who hail from different gharanas and who specialize in different aspects of the dance form. Guru Jyoti Rout is a master of abhinaya and a prolific choreographer. During the seven years under her tutelage, Amanda learned the subtle art of expression and gained her regard for dance as an act of devotional worship. In Srimati Sujata Mohapatra, Amanda finds the embodiment of dedication to the art form of Odissi, expressed in an unparalleled perfection of technique and a total union of life and art. Smt. Mohapatra's rigorous training standard and strict adherence to the perfection of her Guru’s style have enabled Amanda to open up to the very essence of Odissi with all of its nuances.
In America Amanda has had a prolific Odissi performing career. Productions with Jyoti Kala Mandir Performing Company include Sri Jagannath-2000, Buddha-2002, Konark-2003, Cosmic Dance-2004, Amrit Dhara-2005, and Avatar-2006. She had her solo debut or Ranga Puja performance in San Francisco in 2004 and other major solo performances in Phoenix, Atlanta, Santa Fe, Taos, San Jose and at the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival in 2005 and 2006. In addition to being a dancer, Amanda has written and narrated English scripts for numerous Odissi performances and was a teacher of Odissi and drama to children and adults.
Amanda made her India performing debut in 2006 at the 3rd International Odissi Festival in Bhubaneswar where she received critical acclaim for her portrayal of the character Hanuman. She continues to perform at festivals of classical dance throughout India.
Amanda firmly believes that in order to portray the subtleties of abhinaya in Odissi with authenticity and spontaneity it is necessary to spend enough time in the Oriya culture to understand the Oriya mind, heart, way of living, and most essentially the Oriya belief system, which is epitomized in the worship of Lord Jagannath. To this end, she continues to be based in Orissa where she can practice speaking Oriya and continue her sadhana in the company of the many wonderful Odissi dancers and musicians who make Orissa their home.
In her home country of America, Amanda has always aspired to touch the hearts of people from all walks of life, backgrounds and languages with the beauty and spiritual depth of Odissi. She truly believes that at the core all humans are one and that God is one. When an artist is able to touch that universal God through his or her art, all spectators become spellbound, all are uplifted and all find their own link to the great Oneness which is beyond the boundaries of name and form. It is Amanda’s heartfelt wish that all beings connect in whatever way to that One which is the source of peace and universal love.
Contact:
Amanda Geroy,
Odissi Dancer ● Theater Artist
E-mail: amanda.geroy@gmail.com
Selected Press Reviews
“[At the 3rd International Odissi Festival in Bhubaneshwar] Of the dancers based abroad, Jyoti Rout’s disciple Amanda Geroy’s physical agility and bhava in Sankatvimochan Hanuman impressed.”
Leela Venkataraman
The Hindu, January 5, 2007
"At the 3rd annual Devdasi national dance festival hosted recently at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar, the amazing and intense abhinaya of American dancer Amanda Geroy (disciple of Sujata Mohapatra) left the audience spellbound."
The Hindu, October 24, 2008
“As the dancer got onto the stage and depicted the devotional character of Hanuman, at the 3rd International Odissi Festival in Bhubaneshwar, the huge audience refused to believe that the performer was a foreigner. Such was her intensity, involvement and perfection in portrayal of the character. And that was the distinct debut for Amanda Geroy, the American theatre actress turned Odissi dancer who is now based in Bhubaneswar.”
The Hindu, June 13, 2008
“It was an exciting experience for the audience to witness ‘Shiva Tandav’ - a duet dance recital by Amanda from the US and Maria from Peru both of whom are being trained at the city-based Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra’s Srjan dance institution. Incredible was Amanda’s exhibition of command over an oriental dance form and understanding of a mythological character like Lord Shiva.”
New Indian Express, May 16, 2008
“Amanda Geory from USA groomed at Srjan, showed complete dedication to the dance form through her performance. It is amazing to see a dancer of non-Indian origin, practicing Indian forms with complete austerity.”
Narthaki, January 28, 2008
“Amanda Geroy from California’s portrayal of the character of Hanuman left the audience spellbound.”
The Hindu, December 31, 2006
“[At the 3rd International Odissi Festival in Bhubaneshwar] Of the dancers based abroad, Jyoti Rout’s disciple Amanda Geroy’s physical agility and bhava in Sankatvimochan Hanuman impressed.”
Leela Venkataraman
The Hindu, January 5, 2007
"At the 3rd annual Devdasi national dance festival hosted recently at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar, the amazing and intense abhinaya of American dancer Amanda Geroy (disciple of Sujata Mohapatra) left the audience spellbound."
The Hindu, October 24, 2008
“As the dancer got onto the stage and depicted the devotional character of Hanuman, at the 3rd International Odissi Festival in Bhubaneshwar, the huge audience refused to believe that the performer was a foreigner. Such was her intensity, involvement and perfection in portrayal of the character. And that was the distinct debut for Amanda Geroy, the American theatre actress turned Odissi dancer who is now based in Bhubaneswar.”
The Hindu, June 13, 2008
“It was an exciting experience for the audience to witness ‘Shiva Tandav’ - a duet dance recital by Amanda from the US and Maria from Peru both of whom are being trained at the city-based Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra’s Srjan dance institution. Incredible was Amanda’s exhibition of command over an oriental dance form and understanding of a mythological character like Lord Shiva.”
New Indian Express, May 16, 2008
“Amanda Geory from USA groomed at Srjan, showed complete dedication to the dance form through her performance. It is amazing to see a dancer of non-Indian origin, practicing Indian forms with complete austerity.”
Narthaki, January 28, 2008
“Amanda Geroy from California’s portrayal of the character of Hanuman left the audience spellbound.”
The Hindu, December 31, 2006
Major Odissi Performances
Solo
Apr, 2011 Unbound Beats, Ranjana Gauhar's Fest, New Delhi
Jan, 2011 Pragyoti Festival, Guwahati, Assam
Dec, 2010 National Odissi Festival, Bbsr, Orissa
Dec, 2010 1st Odissi Intl. Festival, Bbsr, Orissa
June, 2010, Guru Dakshina Utsav, Bbsr, Orissa
Sept, 2009 Int'l Theater Olympiad, KVK, Cuttack, Orissa
July, 2009 Raseswar Saikhia Award, Guwahati, Assam
June, 2009 Ekamra Utsav, Bbsr, Orissa
Feb, 2009 Neem Karoli Baba Ashram, Taos, USA
Nov, 2008 Shinjan Nrityalaya Festival, Kolkata
Sept, 2008 3rd National Devadasi Festival, Bbsr, Orissa
March, 2008 Neem Karoli Baba Ashram, Vrindavan, UP
March, 2008 Temple Dance Festival, Pushkar, Rajasthan
December, 2007 National Odissi Festival, Bbsr, Orissa
September, 2007 Rani Mandir, Rishikesh, Uttaranchal
June, 2007 Annapurna Theater, Puri, Orissa
December, 2006 3rd Int'l Odissi Festival, Bbsr, Orissa
July, 2006 Hindu Temple, Atlanta, USA
June, 2006 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, USA
May, 2006 Lahar, touring, USA
September, 2005 Festival of India, Phoenix, USA
June, 2005 Lahar, touring, USA
June 2005 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, USA
October, 2004 Mission Cultural Cntr, San Francisco, USA
July, 2001 Anglada’s Auditorium, Taos, USA
July, 2001 The Railyard, Santa Fe, USA
Group
June, 2010, Srjan troupe, KVK, Cuttack, Orissa
Dec, 2009 ICCR Tour with Sujata Mohapatra, USA
Jan, 2009 Sri, Menaka Thakkar Dance Co., Toronto, Canada
March, 2006 Amrit Dhara, touring, USA
April, 2005 Avatar, touring, USA
September, 2004 The Cosmic Dance, touring, USA
April, 2003 Konark, touring, USA
April, 2002 Buddha, touring, USA
November, 2000 Prem, Rabindra Mandap, Bbsr, Orissa
October, 2000 Great America, California, USA
March, 2000 Sri Jagannath, touring, USA
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