It is a tightrope walk to balance dance with academics. On one occasion she recalls missing classes for almost one month because she had gone for a performance to India. "Even during my exams I keep dancing and performing," recalls Sudeshana, asserting that she has to squeeze in time to study as best as she can.

The daughter of well-known Bharatnatyam, Manipuri and Odissi exponent, Sharmila Bandyopadhyay, Sudeshna has a firm grounding in dance. It is not easy all the way; as she says her mother is a hard taskmaster and makes no compromises on practice time--which could range from 45 minutes to an hour-and a half per day.

Apart from her mother, Sudeshna has trained in Manipuri from Manipuri Nartanalaya (under Guru Bipin Singh and Kalawati Devi). Likewise she has picked up the elements of creative dance from Amala Shankar of the Uday Shankar India Cultural Centre in Kolkata. A student of the well- known Chhayanat, she has also studied under Belayet Hossain Khan (Bharatnatyam) and Tamanna Rahman (Manipuri). Another of her teachers is Professor CV Chandrashekhar, in Bharatnatyam.

"My motto is to keep going so that you can achieve your goal," says Sudeshna, who is a student and member of the dance group Nrityanandan, run by Sharmila. She certainly practices what she preaches. At the age of four, she went along with her mother to US. At the Fobanna Conference (an organisation of Bangladeshi expatriates) in New Jersey in 1994, Sudeshna along with other children danced in Dhono Dhanne Pushpe Bhora, her first performance. Since then her passion for dance is undimmed, with overseas performances in Ujjain, Delhi, Sagar and Kolkata in India.

As for the future, she entertains the thought of becoming an interior designer. However, whether this plan materialises or not, dance she says will remain a constant in her life. Meanwhile, her hopes soar skyward-- "I want to be a good dancer and human being. While dwelling in the present, I want to keep an eye on the future," says Sudeshna.