The International Odissi Dance Festival will be held from 26th to 30th December at Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar. The five-day festival will be organised by Odia Language, Literature and Culture Department and Guru Kelucharan Odissi Research Centre.
This year, around 350 Odissi dancers are expected to participate in the festival, including nearly 15 Odissi artistes from abroad. Dancers from various Indian states such as Odisha, West Bengal, New Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh, along with participants from the USA, France, Germany, Australia and Malaysia, will take part in the prestigious event.
Renowned Odissi exponents including Guru Bishnu tattva Das, Nandini Ghosal, Sangeeta Das, Ramil Ibrahim and Aloka Kanungo, among others, will present Odissi dance recitals during the festival. Over the five days, audiences will witness solo, duet and group Odissi performances, showcasing the richness and diversity of the classical dance form.
In the run-up to the festival, a painting workshop on Odissi dance and musical programme were organised from 22nd to 24th December under the joint initiative of the Guru Kelucharan Odissi Research Centre and the Odisha Modern Art Gallery. Around 30 senior artists participated in the workshop.
The workshop concluded today with a valedictory ceremony, during which all participating senior artists were felicitated. A special programme titled “Cha, Chitra, Charcha” was also organised, where veteran artists engaged in an in-depth discussion on the artistic depiction of Odissi dance through painting.
Padma Shri awardee Aruna Mohanty, noted Odissi dance guru Gajendra Panda, Odissi music guru Dhaneswar Swain, former Secretary of the Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi Shri Tarakanta Parida, Secretary of the Odisha Sahitya Akademi Dr Chandrasekhar Hota, and Deputy Director of the Odia Language, Literature and Culture Department Smt Suchismita Mantri were present in the valedictory ceremony.
The International Odissi Dance Festival is expected to further strengthen Odisha’s cultural legacy and promote Odissi dance on a global platform.
