Setting a rare record, the longest ever international Odissi dance festival featuring the largest number of performers concluded in the land of Odissi at the state's capital city of Bhubaneswar on Saturday. It was made possible by the patronage of Orissa Tourism.
It was a 13-day marathon that included two international events. It kicked off with the five-day Odissi International, billed as the second annual union of the global Odissi family and hosted by the city-based cultural organisation Samskritiki , followed by the eight-day international Odissi dance festival staged jointly by the tate-owned Odissi Research Centre and US-based Indian Performing Arts Promotions (IPAP), a cultural organisation set up by the non-resident Odias.
Nearly 500 dancers from 17 countries participated in the two festivals. While the focus of the five-day Odissi International was on the future faces of Odissi — more than two-thirds of the performing artistes were youngsters. The eight-day event that followed brought almost all the stalwarts of the dance form on a single platform from all over the globe.
The long list of legends, veterans and stars included Minati Mishra — the oldest Odissi dancer of the world today who lives in Switzerland, Sonal Mansingh from New Delhi, Kumkum Mohanty from Bhubaneswar, Menaka Thakkar from Canada, Sharon Lowen, Madhavi Mudgal, Kiran Segal and Kabita Dwibedy from New Delhi, Ramli Ibrahim from Malayasia, Sharmila Biswas from Kolkata, Aruna Mohanty, Ileana Citaristi, Sujata Mohapatra and Meera Das.
Both the festivals also featured a large number of gifted young dancers who have already carved a niche for themselves in the Odissi scene. They included Leena Mohanty, Madhusmita Mohanty, Rahul Acharya and Lingaraj Pradhan — all recipients of the prestigious Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Prativa Puraskar.
The other young and brilliant performers, among others, who left a lasting impression were Shashwati Garai Ghosh, Kaustavi Sarkar (from Kolkata) Arushi Mudgal (New Delhi), Shibani Patnaik, Pallavi Das and Douglas Ridings (USA), Irina Komissarova (Russia), Phiono Lin (Taiwan) and Rashmi Raj, Rajashree Praharaj, Arupa Gayatri Panda and Gitanjali Acharya (Bhubaneswar).
It was a pleasant surprise to come across a number of budding and highly promising talented teenagers who could be safely billed as the “finds of the festival” – Nritta Ganeshi Manoharan from Malayasia, the youngest performer in the 13-day festival., Preetisha Mohapatra, grand daughter of legendary Odissi maestro Kelucharan Mohapatra, Natalie Raut from London, Vrinda Rani from Russia, Pooja Jena from Bhubanerswar and Divya Saha from USA.
Among the group presentations from abroad, the Russians led by Vitalina Lobach from Indian Cultural Centre of the Embassy of India and the Japanese with troupe leader Kazuko Yasunobu stole hearts with their strict adherence to the Odissi tradition apart from the elegant presentations. Two troupes from USA — Ratna Roy's Urvasi Dance Company and Niharika Mohanty's Guru Sraddha were also hailed for their impressive presentations.
The event alsofeatured six seminars on various aspects of the dance form including its aesthetics, challenges that it faces for globalization, tradition versus innovation, relevance of yoga, prevention of physical injuries and the issue of changes in costume.
Several eminent dance scholars and critics were invited for the seminars and performances. With a group performance by 555 Odissi dancers for 28 minutes at the Kalinga Stadium, the festival hosts attempted to set a world record with the Guinness Book as well.
