Ellora Patnaik

Ellora Patnaik (born September 5, 1968) is a Canadian actress of film, stage and television as well as an Odissi dancer.

Early life
She was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the first child of her parents, Promod and Chitralekha Patnaik; she is seven years older than her brother Devraj Patnaik. Her parents were born in the state of Orissa (now Odisha), India, and immigrated to Canada in the 1960s. Patnaik made numerous trips to India with her family in her youth.

Her parents soon moved to Oakville, Ontario, and then to Burlington, Ontario, where she attended M. M. Robinson High School.

In 1986, she was selected for training by (late) Padma Vibhushan Kelucharan Mohapatra, and went to study at the Odissi Research Centre in Orissa, India.

Dance training
Patnaik's first and primary dance guru was her mother, who began training her as an Odissi dancer from a very young age. She has also received training from such notables as (late) Padma Shri Pankaj Charan Das, (late) Padma Vibhushan Kelucharan Mohapatra, Padma Shri Sanjukta Panigrahi and Padma Shri Gangadhar Pradhan.

Acting
She attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts from 1992 to 1994 and was a member of the company in her third year.

In 2009, she played Jyoti Mehta, Indie Mehta's mother, in the Canadian television series How to Be Indie on YTV, she filmed another season in 2010.

Odissi dance teacher
Patnaik has taught Odissi dance since the mid-1980s. In the early 1990s, she took over as the executive director of the Chitralekha Dance Academy.