Much to the cheer of the Odissi dancers' community, Bhubaneswar-based Odissi Research Centrelaunched an exclusive Odissi dance festival for the budding artistes below the age of 20 at Rabindra Mandap this month. The objective of the festival was to discover and nurture the budding talents as soloists.
Seven dancers belonging to seven different dance institutions and gurus apart from the three distinct styles of Odissi were featured in the festival that was spread over an evening. The festival was aptly opened with presentation of Shankarabharan pallabi , a composition by late Guru Pankaj Charan Das— regarded as the Adi Guru and the Guru of the Gurus of Odissi. The dancer, Subhalaxmi Padhi, daughter of late Odissi Guru, Sahadev Padhi and being trained under Arati Kar at UDRA in Bhubaneswar, exhibited amazing technical brilliance while executing the complex movements.
Watching late legendary Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra's grand daughter Preetisha Mohapatra, daughter of Guru Ratikant Mohapatra and internationally acclaimed Sujata Mohapatra, was a rare pleasure. The 13-year-old immensely gifted dancer appeared as a replica of her mother, both in appearance and in her style of performance with perfection. And it was Tulika Tripathy, who could be billed as the ‘find of the festival'. Groomed by well-known dancer Kumkum Mohanty, the budding dancer's striking stage presence, spontaneity and the joy of dancing from within were captivating.
Gotipua dancer turned Odissi dancer, Rudra Prasad Swain, the lone male dancer in the festival, exhibited his excellent grip over the techniques and balancing the body— the result of a rigorous training being imparted at the Odisha Dance Academy under the watchful eyes of Guru Aruna Mohanty. Similarly, Sasmita Panda, disciple of acclaimed dancer Meera Das impressed with her lyrical grace and aesthetics of costume and make up. Anisha Sinha, the youngest performer of the festival from Angul and being trained under Guru Durga Charan Ranbir, also impressed with her aesthetic stage presence.
