Aruna Mohanty (born 1960, Odisha, India) is a dancer, choreographer and teacher of odissi, the classical dance of her home state. She matters both as a performer and as a creator, and also for her research and her work in passing the tradition on.
Her training began with Shrinath Rout and Gobinda Pal, and from 1972 she studied under Gangadhar Pradhan. She also received guidance in the dance from Pankaj Charan Das, Kelucharan Mohapatra, Sanjukta Panigrahi and Sonal Mansingh, and studied odissi music with Nirmal Mohanty and Shantanu Das. With nearly five decades of experience, she has choreographed works such as Srushti O Pralay, about the super cyclone that struck Odisha in 1999, Kharavela, Gatha Odissi and several ashtapadis from Jayadeva's Gita Govinda. She has also staged Hermann Hesse's novel Siddhartha.
Her work engages with contemporary social issues. In Naari, gender stereotypes and the status of women are examined through figures from Indian literature and history such as Sita, Draupadi, Mandodari and Nirbhaya. She has also researched the male dancer in classical sculpture and the evolution of odissi after Independence. She has been a visiting scholar at several American universities.
Her honours include the Padmashree (2016-17), the central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2010) and the state award (2014). Her legacy lies in passing odissi on to new generations and in renewing its repertoire thematically.