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The Odissi dance of Orissa is one of the six
acknowledged classical dance forms of India. Like all
other Indian classical dances, it also has its
initiation in religion and philosophy with an origin in
the temples of Orissa. The rhythm, Bhangis and Mudras
used in Odissi dance have a distinct style of its own.
The dance is performed mainly with the theme of Infinite
love of Lord Krishna and Radha.
The allied art of this dance and music is more
popularly known as the Panchama Veda that was cultivated
with success from a very ancient period in Orissa. It
was King Mahameghavahan Kharvela, a proficient master in
the art of dance and music himself, who provided a
strong footing for further development of this art
through his royal patronage.
The Hathi Gumpha inscription states that in his third regal
year King Kharvela entertained the people of capital
city by organizing dance and musical performances. This
noble tradition created by Kharvela came to be followed
by the latter rulers of Orissa, and this art made
further strides of progress under the patronage of the
Bhaumakara and Somavansi monarchs.
However, the community which played the greatest role
in popularizing this art--by giving it a news sprit, a
new hope and horizon--was the community of the temple
maidens or Devadasis. Devadasis or Maharis used to
practice this dance form and used to perform it before
the lord as a form of prayer or ritual. At first, only
some Mantras accompanied their Nrutya. But after Jayadev
composed the Geeta Govindam, thus incorporating abhinaya
in dance form, the grace of this dance form got revived.
Odissi dance would have got diminished inside the temples but
for Ray Ramananda--a dramtist and musician--who
introduced it in another form. He taught Odissi to some
boys and presented the dance form as Gotipua Nacha. He
convinced Chaityna Dev that singing and dancing were
also forms of prayer. Thus, Odissi dance form was
enriched by the encouragement of various kings and a
sweeping Vaishnava cult. Subsequently, Odissi was
further refined and became a higher form of dance than
Gotipua Nacha.
Odissi includes both Tandava and Lasya elements. It has
Navatala system. But the element that distinguishes
Odissi form other dance forms is the grace. In Odissi,
the torso movement is considered very important which is
soft, lyrical and graceful. The basic body position is
chowka that is supposed to be a replica of Lord
Jagnnath's body position.
The dance has a mention in Bharat Natya Shastra as 'Odramagadhi'--one
of the ancient names of Orissa other than Kalinga and
Utkal. The five departments of Odissi are Mangalacharan,
Sthai or Batu, Pallavi, Abhinaya and Moksha. Odissi has
its own style and music.
Similar to other classical dance forms, in Odissi too
the Guru Shisya tradition is prevalent. It takes around
five to seven years to get trained in this style. But,
as Guru says, a whole life dedication also seems to be
less to master the form completely.
Famous Odissi Dancers - Some of the renowned Odissi dancers
are Guru Pankajcharan, Guru Kelucharna, Late Debprasad,
late Sanjukta Panigrahi, Kumkum Mohanty, Indrani Rehema,
Guru Nabakishore, Guru Gangadhar, Guru Ranbir, Guru
Subrat Pattaniak and Illena.
Odissi Dance
Orissa Folk Dance
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