Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra (January 8, 1926 – April 7, 2004) was an Indian classical dancer, guru, and proponent of Odissi dance, who is credited for the revival of the classical dance form in the 20th century. He is the first person to get Padma Vibhushan from Odisha. A noted Sanskrit poet of India writes on this Guru ‘that Saango-paanga-subhangi-laasa-madhuram samteerna-nrutyaarnavam’ which means – Each fraction of his dancing body leads to paramount sweetness through the miraculous pose and postures. In fact, Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra crossed the ocean of styles.
Awards
Birthplace of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra at Raghurajpur, Odisha.
Statue of Padmabhushan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 1966
Padma Shri, 1972
Padma Bhushan, 1989
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, 1991
Padma Vibhushan, 2000
Kalidas Samman from Madhya Pradesh government