Late Guru Deba Prasad Das,
Founder

Guru Deba Prasad Das, established the distinctive style of Deba Prasad school of Odissi dance and is credited with being one of three revivalists of Odissi. Born in 1932 in Cuttack, Orissa, he learnt Odissi and music as a child and then ventured into theater. In 1954, he left the theatre to begin formal studies in dance and music at the Utkal Sangeet Samaj and National Music Association of Cuttack. In 1956, the well-known danseuse Indrani Rehman became his disciple and it was with her from 1957 to 1963, he traveled all over the world and established Odissi as an international art form.

For his significant contribution to the field of Odissi Dance he received the Orissa Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1975 and the Central Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1978. Guru Deba Prasad was the first guru to integrate Sapda-svara-pata, the tandava aspect of Odissi with abstract dance passages, within the usually performed repertoire. He joined Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya and continued to teach there until his untimely death in 1986. He was 54 years old.