DEBAPRIYA DAS

Debapriya Das is an Indian Oriental Dance artist, choreographer, and educator, and the Founder and Artistic Director of Nrityakosh, Bangalore's pioneering house for Classical and Contemporary Belly Dance.

Rooted in Raqs Sharqi and Egyptian folkloric dance traditions, her work explores the intersection of heritage, storytelling, and contemporary artistic expression. Through performance, choreography, and pedagogy, she bridges traditional Egyptian dance vocabularies with contemporary Indian perspectives, creating works that engage with memory, identity, and feminine resilience.

Debapriya is the lead choreographer & director for "The Nrityakosh Company". Based in Bangalore, India, the company situates oriental dance within contemporary performance, engaging storytelling, research, and embodied inquiry to create work that resonates with modern audiences while remaining true to the form's lineage and spirit. Rooted in Raqs Sharqi and allied traditional dances, Nrityakosh's performances are known for their intricate musicality, emotional intensity, and refined movement language. Drawing from Indian classical aesthetics and contemporary dance practices, the company expands the expressive range of oriental dance, allowing it to unfold through new theatrical and narrative dimensions.

In 2023, she led Nrityakosh to receive the Talent of the Year award at Cairo! Budapest Festival, becoming the first Indian company to receive this recognition. 

In 2024, Debapriya & the Nrityakosh Company was awarded the Abhivyakti City Arts Grant for "Parikrama – The Journey Within", becoming the first Raqs Sharqi artist & dance company in India to receive the grant in competition with established Indian classical, contemporary, and folk-dance practitioners.

Recently Debapriya has taught in leading festivals including Cairo! Budapest Festival, where she was invited as a teaching artist in 2025 and Roma Tribal Fest, 2024. In 2025, she joined the international cast of Enta Omri, directed by Nesma, presented in Madrid and Montpellier as part of the prestigious Arabesque Festival, as a tribute to Oum Kulthum.

Alongside her festival work, Debapriya creates interdisciplinary productions that weave Oriental Dance with physical theatre, contemporary movement, and embodied storytelling, positioning dance as a space for cultural dialogue, artistic innovation, and transformation.

Debapriya will be teaching 2 Workshops at our festival.

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