Gajendra Kumar Panda

Gajendra Kumar Panda is an Odissi dancer, teacher, choreographer and researcher based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Born in 1966 in Lokanathpur village in Ganjam district, Odisha, he began artistic training in Sakhipila at the age of nine under Raghunath Purohit. In 1977, he commenced sustained training in Odissi under Deba Prasad Das, becoming a leading exponent and custodian of the Deba Prasad Das tradition.

His work is grounded in Odissi while drawing upon Odisha's folk-performance environment. He holds the Nrutya Visharad and Nrutya Alankar qualifications of Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, Mumbai. His documented work includes research projects on Lord Jagannath and Odissi dance and on the evolution of Odissi from tribal traditions to the present.

Panda has performed, choreographed and conducted workshops in India and internationally, including Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, the United States and Europe. His recorded appearances include the National Odissi Dance Festival, Konark Dance and Music Festival, Mukteswar Dance Festival, Khajuraho Mahotsav, the International Odissi Dance Festival in Bhubaneswar, and programmes with Sutra Dance Theatre in Malaysia.

He directs Tridhara, the Bhubaneswar institution founded by Deba Prasad Das for the propagation, training and preservation of that Odissi style. Through Tridhara, he continues to teach, choreograph, present repertory work and organize the Guru Debaprasad Award Festival. In August 2024, he led and choreographed a 16-member Tridhara troupe in Malaysia for Swarna Samaroh, an event marking fifty years of his work in Odissi.