Sanjib Bhattacharya

Sanjib Bhattacharya is a Manipuri dancer, choreographer, and percussionist. For more than four decades he has practised the Vaishnavite dance tradition of India's northeast: the ras lila of Radha and Krishna, danced to the barrel-drummed pulse of the pung. He has carried it from temple courtyards and Indian festival stages to concert halls on four continents.

He trained under the gurus who shaped the form's modern life, Bipin Singh, Darshana Jhaveri, and Kalavati Devi, and drew early inspiration from the choreographers Manjusri Chaki-Sircar and Mamata Shankar. His dancing moves between the two poles the tradition names, the vigour of tandava and the grace of lasya, joined by the intricate footwork of pung cholom and the emotive storytelling of abhinaya.

He has performed in some twenty countries, among them China, Japan, Mongolia, Thailand, Australia, Germany, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the United States, and at festivals including Khajuraho, Konark, and Elephanta, and on the stage of the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai.

From California he directs Movements in Motion, his academy in San Ramon, Fremont, and San Jose, teaching Manipuri dance, contemporary movement, the pung, and Dance Sutra, his own movement-and-wellness practice. He has also taught as a visiting artist at universities including UCLA, UC Santa Cruz, San José State, Duquesne, Hunter College, the University of Pittsburgh, and UNC Charlotte.

Away from the stage, he brings dance to people the concert hall rarely reaches: elders in care homes, children with disabilities, and visually impaired and inner-city students. He offers it as a practice of presence, dignity, and connection.

He has twice received the President of India's Award, from Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in 2006 and Smt. Pratibha Patil in 2011, for his contribution to Manipuri dance.

“The grammar is learned by heart, and the heart is what it is finally spoken from.”