An accomplished professional danseuse in all three major styles of Odissi, Gullapudi Raman Kumari, began her dance classes at the age of seven years under Gurus Gajandra Panda and Sudhakar Sahu. She underwent advance classes for some time under Guru Pankaj Charan Das and later Guru Dr. Manoj Kumar Behera.
Raman Kumari’s forte is performing to the best dance pieces choreographed by major Gurus of Odissi. She says that her exposure to western dance styles has given her an opportunity to understand “Dance in its true sense irrespective of their styles”. With over three decades of stage experience, Raman Kumari has performed at several prestigious forums in India and abroad.
Founder and managing director of “Dancing Dolls”, Raman teaches her art form to the enthusiastic learners. A law graduate Raman has also authored “Mudra Viniyoga Prakriya”, a book on application of gestures in Indian classical dance. Currently, she is working on Taal Anuvaad, and is a familiar figure to conduct workshops, judge talent competitions and lecture demonstrations.
As co-founder of Mythili and Raman Arts, established in 2018, both dancers have been organising workshops and creating different platforms for upcoming artists, and sharing their creative unrest through novel productions. In 2020, during the times of Covid 19, Raman Kumari presented a 20-minute ballet on ‘The Life We Live Today’. Some of her popular ballets include, Festivals of India, a 45-minute ballet, Rhymes and Rows, Vrindavan and Gopo Bibhuti.