Sonal Mansingh Biography

Sonal Mansingh is an eminent Indian classical dancer and choreographer, renowned for her Odissi dancing style. Prominently a dancer, she is also a philosopher, social reformer, thinker, choreographer and teacher. Despite the fact that dancing was not seen as a respectable profession in her time, she fought her way and achieved excellence in dancing which eventually connected her with the world. To her, dance is the medium through which she can present the views of the unheard. Her dance performances are simply amazing and her works have always been highly applauded, bringing her a lot of fame and fortune. In the history of Indian dance, her body of work is unique in range and scope, and covers several themes, both of traditional and contemporary interest. Lately, her work has shifted towards issues concerning women, environment, prison reforms and re-interpretation of ancient myths. A mesmerizing dancer, she is also a fine orator and through her determined participation in seminars, discussions, workshops and lectures she is able to influence a lot of people of her community. According to her, dance should speak the issues concerning the society at large and dancers must have love for literature, poetry, languages, sculpture and painting as dance is a rare confluence of all these arts.