Poornima Kartik, an intrinsic artiste, rising from a humble background, had an extraordinary odyssey to becoming an architect and a virtuoso of Odissi dance. Her curiosity as a child, leading her to an Odissi class, was soon transformed into passion which was then nurtured by her Guru Smt. Jhelum Paranjape in the city of Mumbai. Poornima's dedication and resilience propelled her through the complexities and challenges of dual professions for a decade.
Although she longed to immerse herself in Odissi, it was many years later that she could finally answer her true calling with the unwavering support of her life partner.
Since then, she continues to be a solo performing artiste and a responsible educator of Odissi .
Her search to understand movement, body, and its connection with mind, led her to explore many somatic practices like Yoga, Feldenkrais method, Pilates, Expressive Arts, Movement Therapy, etc. which further led her to analyze Odissi movement in depth and enhance her own practice as well as the traditional pedagogy of Odissi dance.
Training:
Poornima's artistic journey is deeply ingrained in the rich tradition of the Guru-Shishya Parampara under the guidance of her primary Guru, Smt. Jhelum Paranjape.
Additionally, she had the privilege of participating in workshops under tutelage of Late Padmavibhushan Guru Shri Kelucharan Mohapatra, enriching her understanding of Odissi at its very source.
Furthermore, Poornima has actively engaged in numerous workshops conducted by stalwarts of Odissi. She was invited at Nrityagram as a day scholar, further honing her skills and deepening her knowledge of this timeless art form.
Poornima is currently expanding her education in theraputic modalities of arts through year long Foundation course in Expressive and Creative Arts Therapies.
Performances:
Poornima has been an integral part of the Smitalay ensemble and has performed in many of Smitalay's productions across the country at various festivals like Kala ghoda festival-Mumbai, Mukteshwar festival- Bhubaneshwar, Janmashtami festival- Mathura, Mulam festival - Bengaluru, Anubhuti at NCPA -Mumbai.
She has also performed solo at Thiba music and art festival- Ratnagiri, Dance jathre - Bengaluru, Prakriti- Bengaluru to name a few.
She has travelled across many countries like France, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, and Israel as part of an international musical.
Work:
Poornima likes to expand her horizons by exploring different waters swim. She has co-hosted a workshop with French dancer, choreographer, and her Feldenkrais method teacher- Michel Cassanovas.
She has single handedly managed many aspects like artiste coordination, graphic design, visual documentation, social media, planning etc. on a project - ‘Body storming hits India’ a collaboration between Minnesota, USA based dance company Black Label Movement, scientists from National Center for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, and dancers from India.
Poornima was invited to join a cross cultural choreographic collaboration with Dance students and faculty from Brigham Young university - USA.
She has worked in a short documentary film - ‘To the Borewell Taal” with a Norway based Indian film maker - Prerna Bishnoi, based on unthinkable symptoms of climate change in urban India.