Shibani Patnaik

Shibani Patnaik is one of the leading Odissi classical dancers of her generation, dedicated to teaching and sharing Indian culture through dance across North America. Born and raised in San Diego, CA, she has traveled extensively from a young age to train with esteemed Gurus in Odisha, India. She continues to visit India frequently to further her training, develop new choreographies, and perform at prestigious festivals.

Her training has been under the guidance of legendary Gurus, including Padmashree Gangadhar Pradhan, Padmashree Aruna Mohanty, Manoranjan Pradhan, and Yudhistir Nayak from the Orissa Dance Academy. Shibani and her sisters, known as the “Patnaik Sisters,” helped Madonna choreograph an Odissi-style piece for the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, which was broadcast to millions worldwide. They also collaborated with Ricky Martin on an Odissi segment for his 2007 world tour.

Shibani’s contributions to the arts have been recognized with the 2001 Asian-American Performing Arts Award from Stanford University and the Chapell-Lougee Scholarship to conduct research in Odisha. While at Stanford, she introduced and organized a four-year Indian classical dance program, teaching Odissi during its inaugural quarter. Currently, Shibani teaches Odissi dance in San Diego through the Center for World Music’s Odissi school.