A dedicated young exponent of Sattriya Dance, Dr. Anwesa Mahanta has received accolades from the art connoisseurs and scholars for the grace and liveliness of her dance and the expressiveness of her abhinaya. She has been honoured with the national award Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar from Sangeet Natak Akademi for the year 2013-14 for her contributions in the field. She has also received the coveted Charles Wallace Fellowship from Charles Wallace India Trust and British Council to conduct post-doctoral research in Queens University Belfast.
Belonging to the Vaisnava monastery of Assam, Sattra, Anwesa learnt her formal lessons in Sattriya under the guidance of the eminent maestro Ghanakanta Bora, Padmashri. She has been learning, researching and interpreting Sattriya dance, music and theatre since last 25 years. She is an A grade artist in Sattriya dance of National Broadcasting Channel of India, Doordarshan and an empanelled artist of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and India International Rural Cultural Centre (IRCEN). Currently, she is a Visiting Artist in Residence in IIT Guwahati and is teaching the students about Dance Aesthetics. She is also the Artistic Director of Kalpa, A Society for Promotion of Literature, Art, Culture and Social Harmony Pragjyoti International Dance Festival.
