Director

Guru Krishnaveni Putrevu, director of Utkalaa Dance Academy strives to promote the exquisiteness of Odissi in pure and pristine forms. The mission of Utkalaa Academy is to properly display the traditions of Odissi from Ancient & Vedic ages to audiences all over the region. She has been trained in the Odissi dance style of Padmashree Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra by Guru Sri Naba Kishore Mishra. She is from Andhra Pradesh, but brought up in Orissa, thus exposing her to Odissi. She has earned her degree in Odissi from Lalit Kala Academy, in Allahabad, India and also from Chandigarh University. She has performed widely and has received lots of critical acclaim for her award winning performance all over India and abroad i.e. Norway, UNESCO, Bahamas, etc. She is an active performer, choreographer, and teacher in Irving and Plano. Her students have performed in several major charities and organizations with passion and perseverance to promote Odissi. She strives to teach her students not only how to dance, but the dedication, love and discipline that comes with being a performer. She resides in Dallas, Texas with her husband and her two sons, who are both classically trained in voice and violin.