Urmi Samadar is an accomplished performer, choreographer and trainer in Indian classical and creative dance forms. She has received concurrent training in three Indian classical dance forms – Kathak, Odissi and Bharatanatyam. Her gurus are Mrs. Sumitra Mitra Mukherjee, exponent of Jaipur Gharana and disciple of the noted artist Guru Ramgopal Mishra, and from award winning exponent Guru Aloka Kanungo (http://alokakanungo.com), senior disciple of legendary Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra.

While maintaining the rigor of classical traditions, Urmi experiments by blending Indian, Western, classical and regional forms of dance in her productions. To widen her perspectives in western dances, she has taken courses and workshops in western dance forms such as Nia, Ballroom Dancing and Isodara Duncan Dance. She was a recognized child artist on Doordarshan (Indian television) and was invited to perform before Mrs. Indira Gandhi, late Prime Minister of India, at New Delhi, when she was in elementary school.

Urmi with legendary exponent Pandit Krishnamohan

Urmi with legendary exponent Pandit Krishnamohan

Urmi holds a Sangeet Prabhakar title in Kathak dance issued by Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad and has received several awards and positive media reviews throughout her dance career:

Urmi with noted artist Smt. Archana Joglekar

Urmi with noted artist Smt. Archana Joglekar

Beyond her dance career, Urmi is an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a former Management Consultant. She started her corporate career in India in marketing and strategy roles with Tata Interactive, ICICI Group and a Bangalore-based startup. Urmi is now a Career Education professional at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.