Shri Tapan Kumar Pattanayak is a distinguished exponent, teacher and promoter of Seraikella Chhau. He received training under eminent gurus including Sudhendra Narayan Singhdeo, Kedar Nath Sahoo and Nathu Mahato. Through sustained practice, performance and teaching, he has contributed to the preservation and propagation of the distinctive traditions of Seraikella Chhau. He has performed in India and abroad, including France, and conducted workshops and lecture-demonstrations to introduce the aesthetic, technical and martial dimensions of Chhau to wider audiences. He served as a Chhau teacher at Acharya Kala Mandir, Jamshedpur, visiting trainer at Rabindra Bharati University, and Director of the Government Chhau Dance Centre, Seraikella.

Major Contributions :- Shri Tapan Kumar Pattanayak has played an important role in preserving the traditional repertoire and distinctive movement vocabulary of Seraikella Chhau. Through teaching, workshops, performances and institutional leadership, he has helped transmit the art form to younger generations and promote its cultural heritage nationally and internationally.

Awards and Honours :- In recognition of his outstanding contribution to Chhau dance, he received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2018, India's premier national recognition in the performing arts. His other honours include a Lifetime Achievement Award for his decades of teaching and preservation of traditional Chhau compositions, the State Civic Honour (2022) from the Nagar Panchayat of Seraikella for promoting the region's cultural heritage, and the Guru Gangadhar Smruti Samman for his contribution to Chhau's traditional grammar and institutional development.

His lifelong dedication to performance, training and cultural dissemination has helped keep the distinctive tradition of Seraikella Chhau vibrant and accessible to succeeding generations.