Since 2023, Satpathy has hosted an annual residential workshop in India, attracting students from various corners of the globe. In 2015, she served as the Regents Residency Lecturer in the Department of World Arts & Cultures/Dance at UCLA.
As Director of Training and Outreach for Nrityagram for 20 years, she developed a unique training vocabulary for Odissi that has earned international acclaim. Her understanding of integrated physical conditioning for Odissi/Indian classical dance, combined with her knowledge of Yoga, Natyashastra, Kalaripayattu, western techniques, anatomy and kinesiology is a foundational core of her teaching.
She believes the symbolism of Odissi mirrors society's emphasis on codes, norms, values, and virtues. Odissi dance is a visual codification of a culture with all its various aspects of beliefs and practices. Her work offers Odissi as a relevant universal movement idiom for today and the future, while also inspiring dancers and artists to push beyond traditional forms through renewed interpretations. There is rich cultural, musical, physical, and spiritual inquiry to be made through this tradition and Satpathy revels in this exploration with general audiences and dancers alike.
Movement workshops for dancers at all levels are a core focus of her educational work. Satpathy also facilitates master classes for professional dancers as well as teacher training programs, lecture demonstrations and talks.
University departments and community organizations interested in dance, music, cross-cultural studies, and dance-anthropology benefit enormously from Bijayini Satpathy’s experience and scholarship. Topics of exploration include, but are not limited to:
- Odissi Dance - Its History, Evolution, and Vocabulary
- Gestures & Storytelling in Odissi
- Dance Scriptures and Their Relevance Today
- Reconstruction of Odissi from Temple Sculptures as Primary Influence of Odissi Vocabulary
- Natyashastra Movement & Its Anatomical Relevance
- Non-Narrative & Narrative Dance Creation in Odissi
- Indian Music & Its Relationship to Movement
Educational residencies are developed in consultation with the host organization and can be curated to meet the needs of multiple constituents.
Press:
“Exquisite grace and technique… extraordinarily vivid…” —The New Yorker
“She’s easily among the top five dancers I have seen in my lifetime.” —Mark Morris, New York Times
“Captivating physicality...” —TheaterJones
“Free and fierce…” —Narthaki
