Mesma Belsaré
'...a tour de force.'
The New York Times
Mesma Belsaré's professional dancing career includes solo performances at the Lincoln Center (NYC), Asia Society (NYC), Alvin Ailey Theater (NYC), The Lincoln Theater (Washington D.C.), Siri Fort (New Delhi) and the Harbourfront Centre (Toronto). She is a recipient of the 2022-23 Dance/USA Fellowship, funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; Cambridge Arts Council Artist-Grant; New England Foundation of the Arts (NEFA) Dance Fund; and the Government of Delhi Classical Arts Scholarship.
Belsaré was trained extensively in the art of Bharatanātyam at the Kalapadma Dance Academy in Bhopal, India by Sri Shankar Hombal, and thereafter at the Natya Vriksha Academy, New Delhi, India by Padmashri Geeta Chandran. She received a Diploma in Bharatanātyam from Indira Kala Sangeet University, Khairagarh, India. Belsaré is continuing her studies under Maya Kulkarni in New York.
Productions in addition to an extensive classical repertory includes SIREN (2024), Jatayu (2023), “Medea” (2022), "Plato's Allegory of the Cave" (2020), "In Each is Both" (2019), "Mohini" (2019), "Sāyankālé" (2019), "The Vermin's Will" (2017), “Unquiet Epics” (2012), “Zan: Women in the Shahnameh” (2010), "Carmine Bees" (2008) and Shilpa Nrityam (2002). Belsaré’s commissioned dance films Chinnamastā (2022) and 'In the Creator’s Gaze' (2020) made in collaboration with Maya Kulkarni were received with wide acclaim.
Theater credits include A Christmas Carol and When January Feels Like Summer (Central Square Theater, Cambridge, MA); Gehri Dosti: five short plays with a South Asian Bent (Harvard University, Wellesley College, Circle East, NYC [choreographer]); Tughlaq (Harvard University); Dance Like a Man (Harvard University); and opera The Bandit Queen (Holy Cross College and Boston University).
Besides being a dancer, Mesma is a visual artist. Her preferred medium is oil. She also creates in mixed media and the digital medium.
Mesma holds an MA in Art Education from Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Boston, and a BFA in Applied and Fine Arts from Delhi College of Art, New Delhi. She served as a Museum Educator at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA, and thereafter as the Director of Education at MassArt Art Museum, Boston, MA. Mesma's paintings are held in public and private collections in the U.S., India, Canada, Britain, Holland, and France.
Mesma was awarded the 2024 Individual Artist Fellowship for Painting by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the MidAtlantic Arts.
With a lifelong immersion in classical Bharatanātyam, music, visual arts and theater, Mesma derives inspiration from performing and visual arts alike. She currently lives and works in the New York area..
Click here for the painting gallery.
Audience Reviews
""A deeply committed artist, instructor + cultural ambassador- every experience shared from performing to painting to instruction, is of integrity, passion, discipline + reflection.""
"A unique aspect of Mesma's performance is that you never know what will happen next. She transcends all mediums using an emotionally stirring blend of personal narrative, creative expression, and audience interaction."
"Watching her dance, paint, and sing was an eye opener for the need of expression as a way of explaining and exemplifying one's identity. Her creation of art in all forms focused on an idea so humanistic that forced me as the audience to reflect and connect with art in my own life."
Dance Videos
Dance Videos
Dance Videos
Mesma Belsaré in Shilpa Natana
Rehearsal Mesma Belsaré and Maya Kulkarni_ Allegory of the Cave
Mesma Belsaré | Vermin's Will
Mesma Belsaré in Shilpa Natana (The Dancing Sculptures)
Painting Videos
Paintings, Drawings & Prints
Paintings, Drawings & Prints
'Humming Dews' by Mesma Belsaré
Art by Mesma Belsaré
A drawing-from-life video
Commission painting "Transfiguration" 2021
Inspiring Quotes Series
Inspiring quote #4 (Nietzsche)
Inspiring quote #4 (Nietzsche)
Inspiring Quote#3 (Georgia O'Keeffe)
Inspiring Quotes #2 (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Video blogs
community
initiative
Mesma Belsaré is the co-founder of Samväd along with Odissi dancer Priya Bangal.
Samvād is a forum for professional artists and committed practitioners of classical Indian dance and music.
A creative space for artists to come together to evaluate and reflect in an informal environment, Samvād invites critical discussions on aesthetic values and artistic goals. Samvād is for artists who seek a creative community. Members are encouraged to share their artistic process outside the framework of formal presentations and performances.
Samvād hosts regular in-person and online meetings for members, public conversations besides online interviews and debates. Samvād's School of Skills is specially created to offer professional development opportunities for performing artists.
Samvād is an inclusive, safe space for Indian classical performing artists regardless of their ethic affiliations, caste/creed/religious denominations, gender, gender-identity or sexual orientation.
Contact: samvadboston@gmail.com
Facebook: @samvadboston
Contact Mesma for information on meetings. Please consider liking and supporting Samvād's Facebook Page.