Ritusri’s passion for art, culture, dance, and theater made her a prominent Indian classical dancer and she is known worldwide, especially for Kathak. She has given several successful performances both in India and abroad as a renowned choreographer.

Ritusri Chaudhuri is a well-known Indian Classical Dancer and Choreographer. She has dedicated her whole life to dance and has collaborated with titans of the field. She has built a solid reputation for herself in the field of Kathak dance all over the world.

Ritusri hails from Durgapur, West Bengal. She gave her first performance of the Rabindra dance at the age of two-and-a-half, which her mother had taught her because Durgapur was an industrial area that lacked official dance training facilities. She later began learning Kathak and came a long way in the field of dance.

Recalling her childhood, Ritusri says she was fond of dancing and theater from the beginning. She remembers she used to be hesitant when speaking in front of others because she was a shy child.

Ritusri did her schooling at Durgapur. She received her undergraduate degree in Mass Communication from a college in Kolkata. She simultaneously enrolled at Kolkata’s Padatik Dance Center to further her dance career. There, she learned Kathak and other traditional dance styles under the mentorship of legendary figures like Pandit Birju Maharaj and his senior disciple Madhumita Roy. She used to get fascinated by watching Birju Maharaj’s disciples perform on big platforms and wanted to perform like them. After her strict training, she soon got the opportunity to perform on many stages.

Ritusri also forayed into reciting and anchoring by receiving formal education and training in those fields in addition to dance. Her solo performance journey began at Delhi’s Kamani Auditorium and continued with group and solo performances across the nation and overseas. In 2008, when her dancing career rose up, she began choreographing. Later, she got an opportunity to learn dance, theater, and choreography as well as to teach master classes in Ballet and Kathak at Duke University in North Carolina, USA.

Describing her struggles, Ritusri says that the shift from a performer to a choreographer was quite challenging for her as it was a huge burden that caused chaos in her life to make any event visually appealing. But she persisted in producing successful performances via her diligence and perseverance.

Describing her achievements, Ritusri says her selection for a US Fellowship in the Asian Culture Council and the opportunity to train in the USA for six months, was a big achievement for her. Besides, her major accomplishment is showcasing Indian culture and tradition through Indian classical dance styles abroad.

When asked about her mistakes, Ritusri says she trusts people very easily which makes her suffer sometimes. However, she learned from her mistakes and evolved.

Advising the budding artists, Ritusri says patience is essential to move forward in the field of art and dance and the more time you devote to it, the more it will return to you. She continues by advising not to rush, to be patient and to focus on learning to become a better performer in future.