Technology and Intellectual Property Lead / Teaching Support / Odissi Soloist

Hi, my name is Raisa Hashem. I’m an Australian Bengali - born in Bangladesh and raised in Melbourne from the age of 10. I have been learning Odissi since 2013, and fell in love with it instantly. To me Odissi is yoga in movement. Deeply rooted in the tradition of yoga, the bhangis, the mudras, and the music of Odissi all work in unison to take you on a journey of inner and outer discovery. Through Odissi I learn to heal, gain strength, and continue working on integrating all parts of my life, all the people in my life, and all versions of me past and present.

Alongside Odissi I work full time as a Cloud Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services. I am a biomedical engineer and researcher, obsessed with innovative technology solutions to aid human healing. I am an avid advocate for females in technology, working with high-schools and universities around Australia to encourage females to choose a career in technology.

Student Support Advocate / Odissi Dancer

Catherine grew up in Melbourne, Australia and has always wanted to dance. In 2010, Smt Monica Singh Sangwan first arrived in Australia. Catherine attended a local Odissi dance workshop with her teacher and has never stopped since. Catherine has been interested in many traditional music and dance styles but has focused her attention more exclusively on Odissi dance. She loves how dancers transform on stage from actress to dancer.

Catherine is interested in researching the Karanas. Her aim is to rejuvenate a link between these intricate carvings and their gestural poses with the stylisation of Odissi dance. She sees them reflected constantly in a multitude of Odissi Pallavi, Abhinaya and Manglacharan dances. Her study of temple sculptures and its heritage continues to influence and inspire her own knowledge and training.

Catherine has been a teacher for over 20 years and is a trained Visual Artist and percussion drummer. One day Catherine hopes that her love of writing music and singing will also extend to designing new songs and movements for Odissi dance.

Assistant Teacher / Media Support / Odissi Soloist

Divya is of Indian and Chinese descent, born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She then moved to Melbourne in late 2018 to share life with her spouse.

Divya’s deep love for Indian classical dance began with Bharatanytam at 9 years old then Odissi at 12 years old under the tutelage of Padma Shri Datuk Ramli Ibrahim. In 2020, her life long journey in dance led her to Smt Monica Singh Sangwan and her students who currently impact her deeply rooted sense of belonging to Odissi positively and significantly.

Besides dance, Divya is a Fitness Trainer passionate about movement based training. She hopes to help others find their own healthy and all-rounded practices in life that prioritize and promote longevity.

Assistant Teacher / Sound, Media & Grants Lead / Odissi Soloist

My name is Phạm Phú Thanh Hằng (Hằng is my given name) and I am second generation Vietnamese. I was born and have grown up in the western suburbs of Melbourne on Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung Lands of the Kulin Nation.

I am a documentary maker with roots in community radio, audio storytelling and zine-making and I freelance as an editor in podcast production and the arts community.

I have been a student of Smt Monica Singh Sangwan, learning the art of Odissi since 2012, building a long and deep relationship with Odissi (the dance, the stories, my teacher and my classmates) has taught me many tools to navigate my relationship to work, family and friends. Humility, grace, rigour and curiosity are qualities that I am learning through my Odissi practice and I hope to keep sharing these qualities with my wider community.

Aside from work and dance, I have a sweet dog companion named Light and I love spending time with her. I also love writing, reading and having unstructured time.

Lead Musician / Technology & Intellectual Property Support / Odissi Dancer

Hello, I'm Vaishnavi, I have been learning Odissi since 2014. I stumbled upon Odissi when looking to start a classical danceform, being trained in Carnatic music, naturally, I was looking to start Bharatanatyam. It's my friend Raisa who suggested Odissi - or rather, "Why not Odissi?" - and introduced me to our guru, Monica Didi. As Monica Didi would say, she laughs every time she hears someone say they "stumbled" upon this artform, she doesn't believe any of this to be accidental.

I've been extremely privileged not only to start learning Odissi, but also to have found a mother and mentor in Monica Didi as well as a family and community amongst my guru bandhus. Despite trying to quit numerous number of times, I've finally found myself surrender to this sacred artform and let it mold life, as these artforms do nothing less.

Apart from a day career in data and technology, I have had the opportunity to pursue my love for Carnatic Music full time for a few years and I am extremely fortunate to be able to do two artforms that enrich each other, side by side. I still feel like I'm discovering something anew everyday with both these artforms, there's an ocean out there and it takes several janmas to even absorb a small drop. One can only pray that with dedicated sadhana, the journey stays true.

Teaching Support / Odissi Soloist

Hello, my name Yee Wen (Ewen) Soo. I am a mother, primary school teacher and an arts educator. I engage children through visual and performing arts. My current works with Creative Arts Victoria, Banyule City Council and Artplay are Omoon and Obang.

My artistic background derives from learning Odissi. I have been learning at Sohamasmi Centre for Performing Arts since 2013. Under the guidance of Smt Monica Singh Sangwan, I grow my confidence to teach, perform and create.

Odissi has shaped my way of seeing and listening to the world around me. For me, I see intricacy in the movements interweaving with the beauty in nature. Meanwhile, the stories of Gods and Goddesses, of Radha and Krishna speaks of the emotional complexity we experience as human beings.

Teaching Support / Odissi Soloist

I’m Shreya Rath, one of the youngest at the Sohamasmi Centre for Performing Arts. Born and raised in Melbourne, I am fortunate enough to be born in an Odiya family who are avid practitioners of Bhakti Yoga. Having been exposed to the art of Odissi since a young age, I have always wanted to delve into it and through the years it has moved from an interest to a hobby to a need and now a lifestyle and an intrinsic part of who I am. I have been learning with Smt. Monica Singh Sangwan since 2016.

I started learning Odissi at 9 and through three different teachers and two countries, this one dance form has helped me from my perspective of life. It has helped a shy girl come out of her shell and widened the aperture of my narrow mind. Odissi appreciates stability and silence yet is playful, jumping around with rhythms and notes. Along with granting me an amazing guru and inspiring friends, it has given me an ability to connect with any artist, regardless of their chosen art.

Aside from Odissi, I enjoy philosophy, skincare and travel. I am currently a student at the University of Melbourne studying Finance and Economics and am looking forward to the journey life takes me on.

Odissi Teacher & Soloist

Teaching Support / Odissi Dancer

My name is Pranavi Annadurai. My Odissi dance journey started in 2014 and I have had a total of three different teachers. These years of Odissi have made a massive difference in my everyday life. I was six when I first saw Odissi, the intricate and flowing movements of Odissi awestruck me and I immediately knew that Odissi was the dance for me.

Odissi has not just been about dancing, rather it has connected me to my Indian culture. Odissi has grown to be more than my hobby or passion and has brought many new experiences for me. As a person, Odissi has gradually developed and evolved my character. I have been at Sohamasmi Center for learning arts for the past six years and I will always be grateful for being able to dance with an incredible guru and phenomenal friends with whom I share my dance journey.

Apart from Odissi, I am currently in Year 12 at The Mac.Robertson’s Girls high school. I was born in Singapore and moved to Australia when I was 9 years old. Some of my favorite pastimes include playing tennis, reading and playing the violin.

Media Support / Odissi Dancer

Born with a profound love for classical dancing, Antara embarked on her Odissi journey under the tutelage of Smt. Monica Singh Sangwan in 2019, fulfilling a lifelong wish nurtured since the age of six. Odissi swiftly became the biggest anchor in her life, providing stability and purpose. In recent months, it has instilled in her a sense of discipline and consistency, enhancing her quality of life both physically and mentally.

Beyond the realm of dance, Antara works full-time as a digital marketer, dedicating her professional endeavors to the vibrant world of advertising.

Aesthetics & Design Support / Odissi Dancer

I was born in Melbourne Australia to a German mother and an Irish Australian Father, and raised between NSW Northern Rivers, Bundjalung Country and Mayapur, West Bengal. Having parents who were also Bhakti Yoga practitioners I was exposed to a variety of cultural practices and art forms associated with the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition and was introduced to Odissi when I was 15 years old.

I received Odissi training from Mohini Cox until I met Monica Ji at the age of 23. Since then I have been given the opportunity to have two immersive Odissi and Art workshops in India. These experiences together with Monica Ji’s intuitive and empowering teaching has fostered in my life; knowledge, inspiration, discipline, courage, connection, empathy and most importantly friendship.

I am an Artist by trade, majoring in Painting in Visual and Fine Art (2015), and believe in the symbiotic relationship between dance and painting. Through both forms I am able to investigate aspects of the transcending and sacred body and continuously ask, ‘what role does art have for the reclaiming of our voice, our relationships and more importantly the change in our ideas about our bodies and our self?’

Odissi Dancer

Mesmerised by its intricate and fluid movements, my journey with Odissi began at the age of 9 under the guidance of Srimati Monica Singh Sangwan, and support from my fellow dancers at the Sohamasmi Centre of Performing Arts with whom I have built strong kinship.

Learning Odissi has played a significant role in connecting me with my Indian roots. It has provided me with unique experiences at a very early age and continues to develop me personally. I learn mardala, a traditional percussion instrument under Guru Sri Budhanath Swain, and vocal form of Classical Indian Odissi music from Guru Sri Achyuta Moharana, I am also vocally trained by Sri Lakshmanan Madhu. Together these holistically ground me in Indian classical art forms.

I am currently in year 10 studying at Thornbury high school. Beyond dance, I have a variety of interests such as painting, drawing, theatre and I am involved in a range of high school activities with my school mates.

Aesthetics & Design Support / Odissi Dancer

Accounting & Technology Support / Odissi Dancer

Sohamasmi Teaching Alumni / Odissi Soloist

Lillian Warrum has been dancing classical dance styles since 4 years old. She trained as a classical ballerina from a young age and later fell in love with the enchanting melodies and grace of Odissi dance and music. For her, Odissi dance is a marriage of the soul and the body expressing the highest forms of devotion.

Lillian began learning Odissi in 2011 in India and later moved to Melbourne in 2012 to study with Smt Monica Singh Sangwan. Lillian lives in Melbourne and has performed throughout Australia and internationally at events such as the Festival of Indian Fine Arts and Dance, the Sangeet Mela and the NIROX Words Festival in South Africa.

Sohamasmi Alumni / Odissi Dancer

My yearning for Odissi started while growing up in Kolkata, being exposed to various Odissi performances in school, neighbourhood and on television. It is a surprise that I never got to learn Odissi in Kolkata and almost twenty years later found Smt Monica Singh Sangwan in Melbourne to be my loving teacher.

Odissi has been a vital part of my life since 2013. My very own Monica Didi has taught me many life lessons through dance. She has shown me how to surrender to this art form and let it bring out my inner strength in life. I have learnt that dance is part of my being, my expression of anger, my coyness in love, the wisdom of my soul.

Besides Odissi, I pursue a career in Business Process Improvement in the corporate world.

I believe dancing has also helped me cope with acute arthritis and made me more resilient. So, I dance away for myself and love sharing the joy of Odissi with everyone who wishes to be a part of this beautiful journey.