Sonal Mansingh (born 30 April 1944) is an Indian classical dancer, choreographer, teacher and former member of Parliament. A leading performer of Odissi and Bharatanatyam for more than six decades, she is also known for dance works on social themes and for her return to the stage after an accident that doctors thought had ended her career. She has received the Padma Vibhushan.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Sonal Mansingh (née Pakvasa) |
| Born | 30 April 1944, Bombay |
| Age | 82 |
| Occupation | Classical dancer, choreographer, teacher |
| Styles | Odissi, Bharatanatyam, Chhau |
| Founded | Centre for Indian Classical Dances, New Delhi (1977) |
| Awards | Padma Bhushan (1992), Padma Vibhushan (2003), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987) |
| Other | Nominated member of the Rajya Sabha (2018–2024) |
Early Life
She was born in Bombay into a Gujarati family committed to public life. Her grandfather, Mangaldas Pakvasa, was a freedom fighter and one of the first Indian governors after independence. Her mother, Poornima Pakvasa, was a social worker who founded a training centre for tribal women at Saputara and received the Padma Bhushan.
She began learning Manipuri dance at four and Bharatanatyam at seven. She took a degree in German literature and a diploma in Sanskrit in Bombay.
Training
At eighteen, against her family’s wishes, she left home for Bangalore to study Bharatanatyam seriously under Professor U. S. Krishna Rao and Chandrabhaga Devi. She gave her first full performance in 1962. From 1965 she learnt Odissi from Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, and it became the style with which she is most identified. She also trained in the martial dance Chhau and in Hindustani music.
The Accident
In 1974, at the height of her early success, she was in a car accident in Germany. Several vertebrae, ribs and her collarbone were broken, and she was told she might not walk normally again, let alone dance. A Canadian chiropractor, Pierre Gravel, treated her for months. She returned to the stage in 1975.
Career
Performer
She has danced in almost every country of the world and at all the main Indian festivals, and is noted for the force of her stage presence and for her abhinaya, the art of expression.
Choreographer
She has drawn on myth to speak about the present, especially the position of women and the state of the environment.
- Indradhanush, Manavatta and Sabras
- Devi Durga and Draupadi, portraits of female power
- Aatmayan, on her own life in dance
- Mera Bharat
- story-telling performances, which she calls Natya Katha, combining narration, song and movement
Teacher
In 1977 she founded the Centre for Indian Classical Dances in New Delhi, where she has trained many dancers.
Institutions
She was chairperson of the Sangeet Natak Akademi from 2003 to 2005 and has been a trustee of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.
Parliament
In July 2018 the President nominated her to the Rajya Sabha, where she served a six-year term.
Honours
- Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987)
- Padma Bhushan (1992), the youngest dancer to receive it at the time
- Padma Vibhushan (2003)
- Kalidas Samman
- Honorary doctorates from several universities
A documentary on her life, Sonal, directed by Prakash Jha, won a National Film Award in 2002.
Personal Life
She was married to the diplomat Lalit Mansingh, later Foreign Secretary of India and ambassador to the United States; the marriage ended in divorce. She has spoken of choosing dance over a conventional family life. She lives in New Delhi and continues to perform and teach in her eighties.
Featured image: Sonal Mansingh performing in New Delhi, August 2011. Photo by Ramesh Lalwani, licensed under CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
