Aruna Mohanty is an illustrious Odissi dancer. She admits her lineage from Guru Gangadhar Pradhan, a renowned Odissi dancer and teacher. Aruna Mohanty has also bagged the honor of receiving training under the great tutelage of legendary Odissi dancer late padmabibhushan Kelucharan Mohapatra. In the early 1980s through her performances she made her impression in the arena of Odissi dance. Since then she has been mesmerizing her audiences through her performances.

Aruna Mohanty as an established Odissi dancer mainly exhibits solo performances. But her rise to the fame took place from a duet, performed along with renowned dancer Nandita Patnaik. Aruna has a strong grip in the dance techniques through which she enriched another part of dance, `abhinaya`.

Aruna Mohanty has fetched the honor of being participated in various renowned festivals and occasions. In most of the occasions she has assisted her guru. At the Orissa Dance Academy, Bhubaneswar her guru has been assisted by her in teaching as well as in choreography. Ramesh Chandra Jena and Madhusmita Mohanty, another two illustrious disciple of Guru Gangadhar Pradhan has also along with Aruna Mohanty exhibited their performances. Ramesh Chandra Jena and Madhusmita Mohanty are both considered as the leading dancers in the arena of Odissi dance. One of the leading Odissi dancers of the younger generation, Sonali Mishra is the disciple of Aruna Mohanty.