Report on Samsmaranam

Report on: ‘Samsmaranam”

April 7th 2011 and 7 yrs have already passed since the sun set in the world of Odissi dance as the legend and & Odissi maestro Padmavibhushana Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra had passed away.

Responsible for the revival, preservation and promotion of “Odissi” one of the most graceful dances of India, Late Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra had made incomparable efforts and had lit the lamp of this dance form around the globe for its lovers and enthusiasts.

Known for the perfection and excellence in abhinaya & intricate choreographies of pure dance pieces, Guruji has left behind immense wealth for everyone associated with Odissi today….

Across the globe, this down to earth man has plenty of fans, followers and students, who with their interest and passion in Odissi have kept this wonderful man alive forever in their hearts. Indeed the tradition of Odissi has made Guruji immortal.

In Bangalore a tribute was paid to Guruji by popular Odissi danseuse and teacher Sharmila Mukherjee – a senior student of Guruji & Director of Bangalore based institute – Shanjali Centre of Odissi dance.

For the said program in joining hands to pay tribute to Guruji, Sharmila Mukherjee had invited Guruji’s son and student Shri Ratikant Mohapatra – Exponent of Odissi, Director of “Srjan”.

At A.D.A Rangamandira auditorium, near the entrance, a beautiful picture was placed of Late Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, decorated in a sober manner with flowers and lamp and the display board saw information about the artists of the evening as well as about the host institution.

The stage was accurately set with 6 ascending bells and one lamp in the centre, hanging down from the ceiling. The left side of the stage saw a beautiful 4.5 feet (approx) height picture of Guruji decorated with flowers along with a lamp stand by the side and a hanging bell – making a temple like atmosphere.

After the welcome speech by the students of Sharmila Mukherjee, the chief guest of the evening Smt. Padmini Ravi – Bangalore based Bharatanatyam exponent offered flowers to Guruji and lit the inaugural lamp along with Ratikant Mohapatra & Sharmila Mukherjee.

Other well known artists and exponents such as Smt. Bhanumati, Smt. Lalitha Srinivasan & Smt. Chitra Dasarathy were also present on the occasion.

The program began with Sharmila Mukherjee’s solo invocatory piece “Shiva Stuti” set in the Mangalacharan format. The dancer draped in a nice yellow costume embarked upon the stage with an accurately smiling face with beautiful music set to Raag Madhuvanti and Ardhajumpha tala, a piece originally choreographed by Late Smt. Sanjukta Panigrahi.

Sharmila Mukherjee’s solo with neat balances, perfect tribhangs and good chaukas assured of her talent & practice as well as experience in the field.

The 2^nd presentation included a trio dance – “Pallavi” from the traditional repertoire of Odissi. Set in Saveri Raag & Eak taali, the piece was presented by the students of “Shanjali “.  Originally choreographed by Guruj, and crafted for the evening by Sharmila Mukherjee, the 3 dancers were draped in red & black colored combination costumes. It was nicely presented & was a correct choice as the 2^nd item of the evening.

Next was a solo by Ratikant Mohapatra which was a Tulsidas ‘Bhajan’on Lord Rama- The popular “Sri Ramachandra Kripalu Bhajama”. It was a nritya piece set to Raga Malika and Jati & Adi tala. The music was composed by Pradeep Ku. Das and choreographed by Ratikant Mohapatra.

It was nice to see multiple characters portrayed aptly by Ratikant Mohapatra – which spoke of his good hold on abhinaya & body language in dance required as per the various characters’ needs.   Two episodes – One of “Sita swayamvara” and the other of “Rama-Ravana” fight were accurately projected in the said solo. Ratikant Mohapatra through this piece justified his talent in choreography as well as presentation. At the end of his solo, he offered a shastang pranam to his Guruji and father.

Next was a very strong presentation by Rajashree Praharaj – A Pallavi set to Bhupeshwari Raga & Adi tala on the music composed by Pradeep Das and choreographed by Ratikant Mohapatra. Draped in a neat white with red costume, this fit & energetic danseuse presented this well practiced piece showcasing her immense capacity & knowledge in Odissi.

Next was a Shiva Pachashwara Strotam, a duet presented by two young students of the host school. Great qualities of Lord Shiva were depicted. It was set to Rupaka tala and Behrag raga. This piece was very well choreographed for a duet and the two dancers justified Sharmila Mukherjee’s good training capabilities. At the climax of the said item, beautifully coordinated poses & postures were depicted which the flexible dancers neatly dancing.

The final presentation of the program was a duet of Ratikant Mohapatra & Rajashree Praharaj titled “Jatyu Mokshya” taken from the “Ramacharita Manasa” It was in Raga malika & Tala Malika with music by Shri Lakshmikant & choreography by Ratikant Mohapatra. The interesting entry on the stage by the dancers showcased Ravana bringing Sita – which was very well coordinated and promised depth in the item in the beginning itself. The best part in the item was to see Ratikant Mohapatra portraying the struggle of the injured “Jatayu” in an excellent manner. Both dancers presented multiple characters & made the item appeal strongly to the audience.

The program ended by a vote of thanks presented by Sharmila Mukheree & an apt short speech by Ratikant Mohapatra. The program correctly titled as “Samsmaranam” paid tribute to the legend Padmavibhushana Late Guru Keluchran Mohapatra in a memorable way & the program did give way for the Bangalore Odissi lovers to observe these beautiful presentations.

Sri Shankaracharitamruta - A dance drama in Bharatanatyam style

Review of Dance-drama “Shri Shankaracharitamruta” presented by
Keshava Nritya Shala – Bangalore.
Bangalore has been a city of variety & plenitude when it comes to showcase of
performing arts. The city is indeed a home to several established artists of dance,
music and theater. The beautiful blend of modern & classical found in the city
speaks volumes about the creative souls that breath within.

The events calendar of various sites & newspapers are usually flooded with
information which appeals the mass that savor the taste of aesthetics of
performing arts.

Taking about the end of March which on Saturday 26th 2011 at Ravindra
Kalakshetra saw a unique dance-drama titled “Sri Shankaracharitamruta”
presented by Keshava Nritya Shala - 62 yrs old (one of the oldest institution in
Bangalore founded by Late Guru H.R. Keshava Murthy) hosted by Guru B.K.
ShaymPrakash & members of KNS.


This dance drama based on Bharatanatyam style, was a novella for the audience
since it was a unique blend of philosophy & spirituality pressented well on stage.
The life history of Shri Shankaracharya - A theme quite difficult & challenging
was crafted very well by the Director Guru B.K.Shyam Prakash (Bharatanatyam
exponent & Principal of Keshava college of Dance & Music, ISRO)

The dance –drama balanced very well between the storyline of the great saint as
well as the need of well trained dancers presenting relating dances supporting
the ballet. Within a span of 120 minutes, the dance-drama qualified to depict
important episodes from the life of Sri Shankaracharya.

Episodes such as the birth of Sri Shankaracharya – His thread ceremony –
His childhood - decision of choosing to become a saint – Taking lessons from
his Guru - Kanakadhara episode – Preaching at Badri – Establishing Matt at
Shringeri – visiting Varanasi etc were some important & acclaiming scenes in the
said dance-drama.

Amongst all, the group dance in which the dancers dance to celebrate the joy
of the birth of Shri Shankaracharya was very striking & nicely presented along
with that, amongst all scenes, the scene in which Shri Shankaracharya meets
his guru Shri Govinda Bhagavata Pala – was the most sentimentally touching
& strongly presented scene. The Kanakadhara episode was also very well
received.

Around 20 dancers, well trained and talented along with 3 main roles presented
by: Shri Raghunandan S (as Shankaracharya) Shri Nagesh (As Mandana
Mishra) and Shri Anil (As the teacher of young Shankaracharya) as well as a
young dancer Ms. Padmaja (as the mother of Shankaracharya) spoke volumes of
the talented artists and their in-depth training.

A special mention should be done about a 13 yrs old young Bharatanatyam
dancer Sricharan – student of Raghunandan S who played the young
Shankaracharya & left the audience spell bound with his skills & talent
showcased on stage. Indeed he is a promising artist of the future.

The perfect lights design & support of beautiful projection of slides added
correct support to the dance-drama. The wonderful music, sincerely designed
by talented artists under the research of Guru B.K.ShyamPrakash gave the
dance-drama a charm of spiritual & classical bliss. Apart from 2 senior vocalists,
the other instruments in the music support included flute, mridangam, veena,
cymbals & multi-rhythm pad.

Apt make-up & hair-do for different dancers & characters added a correct tone to
the dance-drama. Richly colored costumes of the dancers brought liveliness on
the stage.
Smt. B.K.Vasanta Lakshmi provided support in the dance- direction & music
composition was by Vidhwan Shri Thirumalaya Shrinivas.

The distinguished guests of the evening included: Padmashri Dr. Mattur
Krishnamurthy – Director “Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan”, Shri Pavagada Prakash
Rao – Eminent speaker & orator of philosophy, Gamaka Vidhwan Dr. A.V.
Prassanna – Secretary Ministry of Education, Dr. Smt. Sukanya Prabhakar –
Eminent vocalist, GanaKala Bhushana – R.K Padmanabha – renowned musician,
Vidhwan R Paramashivan – Eminent musician – Theater songs.

The program saw speeches by the eminent guests on the related topic followed
by the dance-drama. The spectacle was very well received by hugh audience of
over 1,000 at the wonderful & magnanimous Ravindra Kalakshetra – Bangalore

24TH KONARK DANCE & MUSIC FESTIVAL 2009

Beautiful atmosphere, serene nature & sublime feelings are what one experiences while being at Konark, Orissa. The land of the Sun Temple & the gorgeous Chandrabhaga beach, this beautiful place has been welcoming people with great affection. Right there with the most genuine approach to performing arts stands 'Konarak Dance & Music festival' that has been providing the art-enthusiasts some soul enlightening Februaries...

picture poster coming soon
Stepping into the pre-silver jubilee year this year, the 24th Konark Dance and Music festival is all set to provide a prefect treat for the art lovers at Konark Natya Mandap, Orissa. Brainchild of Padma Shri Guru Shree Gangadhar Pradhan, this grand festival is proudly welcoming exponents of dance and Music.
Dance students, art lovers, critics, exponents, teachers, and artists would be witnessing this grand event. The festival hopes to receive spectators, participants as well as artists from around the globe, as always.
The evenings which are of course the best & most awaited feature of the festival would bring refreshing performances by some highly efficient performers. As explained by Shri Pradhan, this year's festival would be embracing both established as well as young artists. There would be a beautiful blend of several dance & music performances, classical as well as semi classical during the festival.

As informed by him, this festival will be staging dance styles such as Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Manipuri, Chhau, Gotipua and Ranapa and on the other side music recitals of flute, sarod, classical vocal etc.
This 3 day long festival is scheduled from 19th to 21st February 2009 and is hosted by Shri Pradhan's 'Konark Natya Mandap' in collaboration with Orissa tourism & Easter Zonal Cultural Centre, Kolkata.
This annual festival which is of an international repute is well known for its picture – perfect venue & beautiful stage. Konark in Orissa on the eastern sea-coast of India is blessed by rich waters & sand which create an aura of simplicity & meditation. Above all, in the midst of this beauty is the festival's open air stage which holds magnificent sculptures on its wall surrounded by hugh trees. The performances in the evenings, on this wonderful stage that faces the open sky with the stars glittering above, would indeed create an atmosphere of sublime beauty.
To enrich the festival, the galaxy of artists at this year's Konarak dance & music festival include Flute maestro Hariprasad Chaurrasia, Sarod player Abhjit Ghose, Odissi vocalist Dhiraj Mohapatra, Kathak exponent Guru Gitanjali Lal, Mayurbhanj Chhau artist Trilochan Mohanta and US based Odissi dancer Jyoti Rout and Manipuri dancer Baisali Basu Sarkar.
The troupes participating would be the Kathak Kendra troupe, New Delhi, Sridevi Nrityalaya, Chennai, Chhau troupe, Baripada, Manipuri troupe, Kolkata, Gotipua troupe – Konark Natya Mandap, Konark & Ranapa troupe, Ganjam.

Other young and talented artists which would add to the beauty of the festival are Pallavi Das and Sharanya Mukhopadhyay, USA, Yudhisthir Nayak, Bhubaneswar as well as Pabitra Pradhan and Sridutta Bhol.
Shri Pradhan's KDMF does seem to continue its tradition of bringing the new & the versatile year after year. Apart from this, the festival has earned a banner for being a very good host to the artists & is known for good organization and management.
The festival is noticed as a great platform for true artists & genuine talents!! The festival is sure a rendezvous of people with the arts in true sense.


Thus, the 24th Konark dance & Music festival is all waiting with its arms open to embrace & welcome everyone to be a part of this grand celebration.

For details & further information kindly visit:

http://www.konarknatyamandap.org/

- MANASI PANDYA - 2009

Purva International classical dance festival 2007 - VADODARA, INDIA

Vadodara, The cultural capital of Gujarat, is all set for the 'International Classical Dance Festival 2007'which is being hosted by 'Purva School of Bharatanatyam'.
The festival is to take place from September 1st to 3rd where performances will be staged on 1st & 2nd and interactive sessions between artists & art lovers will be held on the evening of 3rd September.
The Festival is designed to celebrate the sprit of promotion of classical dance & exchange of creativity between Indian as well as foreign classical dance artists in a true & live sense. The festival is organized with the aim of spreading awareness that the Indian Classical Dances percolates and penetrates the man made boundaries & that they are so rich containing great beauty that people from around the world have accepted & appreciated it.

The objectives of the festival are:

• To promote international exchange of knowledge and ideas in classical dance

• To educate the public specifically the younger generation in the classical dance.

•To give a platform to Foreign artists practicing Indian classical dance

• To provide artists from abroad, an opportunity to explore Indian culture & tradition closely, especially in Vadodara – the cultural capital of Gujarat.
Guru Shri Sharad Pandya [Bharatanatyam Exponent, Founder of 'Purva' & Director of the Festival-07'] feels that by bringing together these artists, he is happy to be able to present to the audience, an experience that will aesthetically enrich them and moreover he feels the Festival will highlight the devotional bend of these foreign artists towards Indian Classical Dances.

The current unique & first of its kind of festival in Vadodara, would embrace classical dance artists from India as well as other countries such as France, Japan, Russia, Hong Kong and Brazil. The guests of the festival are Shri Rajeev Topno [IAS], Collector, Vadodara & Smt. Jaya Thakkar, M.P , Vaoadara. The Festival President is Smt. Niru Pandya [Founder, Purva School of Bharatanatyam] The performances will be staged at the C. C. Mehta Auditorium in Vadodara.
Day one of the festival will have presentations of Purva School of Bharatanatyam - Baroda, followed by a Kathak dance presentation by Isabelle Anna from Paris, France, Odissi performance by Kolkata based Nivedita Daw's and a Kathak presentation by Menka Purswaney from Hong Kong. The concluding presentation of the inaugural day will be a Bharatanatyam performance by Gyanendra Bajpai, from Tokyo, Japan.

Day two of the festival will commence with a Kathak presentation by Richa Gupta from New Delhi. This would be followed by a group Odissi performance by 'Mahari Company' from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Rasya Choppalli from Hong Kong would then present a Bharatanatyam performance which would be followed by Baroda based Manasi Pandya’s Odissi performance. The festival would come to its finale with the duet presentation of Bharatanatyam artists Eleonora Ukhanova and Angelina Ukhanova from Russia.

Further details of the festival can be had from the host site; http://www.purva-bharatanatyam.org/

-MANASI PANDYA [2007]

Purva School of Bharatanatyam - Vadodara - INDIA

“PURVA” School of Bhartanatyam is a leading dance institute in Baroda. The renowned dance teachers Guru Shri Sharad Pandya Smt. Niru Pandya founded “PURVA” in 1983 with the aim of promoting the rich art and cultural heritage of India. It fulfills this aim through proper and intensive training of young talents, thereby bringing the essence of Bharatanatyam style of Classical Dance. “PURVA” has also been working for the purpose of the cultural upliftment of classical dance of India.

It is affiliated to Nalanda Dance Research Centre Mumbai, a college recognized by Bombay University. “PURVA” School of Bharatanatyam is recognized as one of the leading highly professional dance institutes from around the world, by International Dance Council, and is a registered member of CID, UNESCO.
“PURVA” has two teaching centers in Baroda. It also consists of two sections, The first section is related to teaching and training and another section is that of the performing group.
“PURVA” also has a junior troupe of upcoming artists who are trained in a disciplined manner and have given several small but important performances in shows hosted by “PURVA”. This helps in increasing the confidence in the junior artists and they are thus encouraged to further participate in similar functions.

Over and above teaching dance “PURVA” believes in educating students regarding the cultural heritage and traditions of India. It is a institution of incomparable credibility in imparting training in Bharatanatyam dance style.

Under the inspiring guidance of Guru Shri Sharad Pandya the performing group has given innumerable national and international performances and have been widely appreciated. The troupe has performed for various charitable and social organizations also. PURVA frequently invites and felicitates the renowned artists of this field thereby making the coming generation aware of such artists.
Lecture as well as demonstrations related to various other facets of Indian Art is also arranged at “PURVA” Workshops & cultural exchange programmes are also conducted by “PURVA”
It has maintained and served the sanctity and the purity of the dance form, style and technique. It has made innovation in the Bharatanatyam choreography keeping intact the basic features of the dance.

“PURVA” believes in helping out various educational and social institutes through its performance and feels that dance can be much more than just a medium of entertainment. It helps the society with complete devotion and feels proud in playing a small but vital role in doing so. The students of PURVA pursue dance as their hobby but they are trained in a professional manner with sheer discipline.

It also truly follows the ‘GURUKUL PARAMPARA’ of Indian culture. Students find a home away from home here in Purva. Till this date“PURVA” has trained about 1500 students who are now stationed around the globe. In this manner it has been discharging the stupendous task of enabling the heritage of India to reach around the globe.

http://www.purva-bharatanatyam.org/

- MANASI PANDYA [2008]

BYO Film Festival - Puri, INDIA 2007

Bring Your Own Film Festival (BYOFF) is an annual event held during February every year on Puri beach. To call it just a film
festival is to limit its unique magical quality. It’s a festival without hierarchy, competition, juries and awards where not only filmmakers but also artists from other fields like music, theatre, painting, sculpture, dance, literature and photography are encouraged to participate and show their work.
In short, BYOFF can be best described as an informal and intimate gathering of artists with films in the backdrop where screenings go on early into the morning hours- first, inside makeshift tents and then in the open air after sun down.
For filmmakers, it has been an alternative platform ever since its first edition in the year 2004. The idea is to have a festival away from the oppressive atmosphere of bureaucratic control of big cities and where just about anybody – with or without films – could participate.
The participants of BYOFF themselves are the volunteers and the organizers of its future editions. And the mood of the festival is that of a no holds barred carnival where the sea and its sand provide the right ambience to lift the spirits of every one present. Yeah, for five days and five nights.
WHERE
The venue is ‘Pink House Hotel & Restaurant’ off Chakrateerth
Road in Puri, in ORISSA, housed in an old bungalow
constructed way back in 1937 with a fenced off private stretch of beach. One can watch films or just relax in one of the shacks to contemplate the blue waters of the sea. For the sea is never as bluer as it is in February.
No wonder, the Lonely Planet guide describes it as the ‘beachiest of them all…’

The address of the venue is
Pink House Hotel & Restaurant, Chakrateerth Road, Puri.

TEL. 91- 6752 – 222253
Details regarding the festival & participation can be had from the site:
http://www.byofilmfestival.com/


- MANASI PANDYA - 2007

3rd International Odissi Festival - A perfect treat for the culture-hungry audience of Orissa

Orissa on the eastern seacoast is the home of the highly sensuous and lyrical Indian classical dance form Odissi. A dance form born in the temples of India, having philosophical and religious bent, Odissi is a beautiful art now practiced and celebrated all around the globe.


Every year, many practitioners of Odissi present their performances in solo, duet or groups. Odissi has traveled from smaller villages of Orissa to across many nations and continents. Festivals, lecture-demonstrations, workshops, performances take place each year in large numbers at various places and thus provide Odissi a path towards its promotion and popularization.
In the year 2006 it was the '3rd International Odissi Festival' which created a grand platform to many artists in the field. It was a big success for the Odissi artists and art lovers as the year ended with the celebration of the said festival.

The fact bag of the festival brings to us: 17 countries participating, more than 450 artists from around the globe, 5 days of celebrations, 4 styles of Odissi, indoor and outdoor stages, exhibitions, seminars, workshops, lecture-demos, felicitation of senior artists and scholars, a high amount of interaction, tremendous exchange of creative ideas as well as a close view of the true Oriya culture – says it all.
The concept of the festival was initiated by Indian Performing Arts Promotion Inc [IPAP] which is an NGO based in USA. In making this festival possible, along with the chief organizers were - IPAP, were the festival co-sponsors – Government of India (Culture-Tourism), Sangeet Natak Akademi, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Government of Orissa (Culture & Tourism), Odissi Research Centre- Bhubaneswar, Bhubaneswar Circle, Utkal Sangeet Mahavidhalaya etc.
This festival took place from December 26 – 30, 2006. Each day of the festival was full of excitement and enthusiasm. It was a homecoming event for the overseas dancers visiting their roots. The theme of the festival was Odissi – Origin and Beyond. It was dedicated to the memory of Guru Keulcharan Mohapatra. The festival also celebrated the golden Jubilee celebration of Jayantika – the mission of making Odissi a classical dance. The previous two festivals were held in Washington DC, USA.
On Tuesday, December 26, 2006 at 12pm the festival was declared open. It started with a beautiful 'Ganesh Vandana' by Ramahari Das and then the 'Sankha Dhwani' by Rajendra Mahapatra. This was followed by the welcome message given by Pratap Das - President IPAP. Gopinath Mohanty, Secretary, Dept. of Culture gave the opening speech and Dr. Subhas Pani, Chairman Organizing Committee gave special remarks.


It was followed by the 'Sankha Vandana' by Rajendra Mahapatra, Subhashree Sankha Dhwani Kalakendra and Narendra Pur, Ganjam.
Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Showcase began at 13:00hrs featuring some brilliant solo performances by Gurus Gangadhar Pradhan, Durga Charan Ranbir, Shankar Behera, Rabindra Atibudhi, Bichitrananda Swain and Ramli Ibrahim.
This was followed by the Sanjukta Panigrahi Showcase featuring beautiful and graceful solo performances by Ileana Citaristi, Ranjana Gauhar, Minati Mishra, Kumkum Mohanty, Madhavi Mudgal and Sonal Mansingh.

The inauguration of the Exhibition followed at 18:30hrs. The concept was '50 Years of Odissi.' The visualization was put forward by Ramahari Jena and Soubhagya Pathy. Later the same evening, the inauguration of the Utkal Mandap took place. The welcome speech was given by Pratap Das. Rameshwar Thakur, Honorable Governor of Orissa was the Chief Guest and Ajit Kumar Tripathy, Chief Secretary, Orissa was the Guest of Honor.
The function continued with the release of publications 'Odissi 3,' which has been edited by Dinanath Pathy, Dr. Sunil Kothari and Soubhagya Pathy and 'Rethinking Odissi' which has been authored by Dinanath Pathy.

Then the evening saw the conferment of IPAP ODISSI LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD on Guru Mayadhar Raut, Sonal Mansingh, Dr. Sunil Kothari, Raghunath Panigrahi and Babulal Doshi (posthumously).

Next came the presentation of performances with traditional repertoire at 19:00hrs. The presentations included Ananga Utsav, Mahari and Gotipua categories.
Orissa Dance Academy's (Bhubaneswar) group choreography on Jayadeva's Geeta Govind was a beautiful composition and probably the best choice for opening the evening performances. The Academy's 18 graceful dancers dancing to a live orchestra along with Guru Gangadhar Pradhan himself on stage was undoubtedly a big treat on the 1st day itself for the audience.

This was followed by a Mahari presentation made by the Udayan group from Puri. The audience was delighted to see this traditional dance style. Next was a Gotipua dance presentation by a group of 6 young boys from Konark Natya Mandap (Konark). The audience was left spellbound after the last item, which was full of acrobatic movements. These young dancers, full of tremendous energy, further surprised the audience as they sang their song 'Tam Thai, taa...' while dancing.

Kala Vikas Kendra, Shreekshetra, Gurukul and Abarta were also good. Nrityagram's (Bangalore) performance with 3 dancers dancing to a variety of rhythms and portraying good body control in various traditional movements left the audience awe-struck. The day concluded with a mesmerizing performance given by the young dancers of Rudraksya (Bhubaneswar).


'Celebrating 50 years of Odissi – Jayantika' was the theme of the seminar which opened the 2nd day of the festival. It was followed by a workshop 'Preventing physical injury' conducted by Dr. Kannon and Bijayini Satpathy, assisted by two young dancers Pavitra and Bhaduri from Nrityagram. Guru Sonal Mansingh then conducted a workshop on 'Effective communications.' Young dancers as well as teachers came in good number to attend these workshops. The opening of the second day proved to be good.



In the afternoon session, Pallavi Das from USA dressed in a beautiful red Odissi costume started with her performance in the international solo category. Her recital was highly appreciated by the audience. Also Saranya Mukhopadhyay's presentation earned a lot of appreciation because of her ability to portray good abhinaya. Ratna Roy's student Shibani Mohapatra from USA gave an incomparable performance by presenting a Thali dance, which is an extinct tradition from Puri. She danced on the edge of a brass plate along with two plates with lights on both the palms. A very nice dance piece on 'Hanuman' by a young skillful dancer Amanda from Canada followed.
The second session (International solo category) saw performances given by Nandita Behera, Jyoti Rout, Ratna Roy, Mitali Dev, Sylvana Duarte, Revati Carroll, Anjali Gaston, Ananda Ceballos, Kimiko Yanaglda, Devsmita Patnaik, Masako Ono, Chitra Krishnamurti and Vishnu Das.
The evening air was then harmonized with a vocal presentation by Sangeeta Panda and group. The group dance presentations were by Urvasi, Mayur Dance Academy, Jyoti Kala Mandir, Nrityalaya, Odissi Dance Circle and Sutra Dance Theatre. Sutra's young performers were highly appreciated for their very energetic and strong performance. The festival co-coordinator Sibashis Pradhan, during the lunch break told this writer that many festivals take place each year in Orissa on small and big scale, but this was indeed a different and important festival because it concentrated totally on Odissi. He further added that it is one such event that brought many Odissi artists from around the globe under one roof at one time.
The next 3 days saw a swing of various activities such as a seminar on 'Preparing Odissi in the global arena for the 21st century audience,' workshops like 'Fit to dance' (by Meera Das), 'Managing the media' (by Dr. Kothari, Leela Venkatraman and Shyamhari Chakra). The conference featured 4 other workshops on Networking Skills, Art of Make-up, Odissi Costumes and Jewelry, Role of Parents, and Valuable Tips for the Teachers.
There were two field trips to the Sun Temple at Konark and Puri. Additionally, there were lecture demonstrations for Maharis, Gotipuas and Odissi.
Many other solo, duet and group performances took place under the different categories such as: Promising Solo, Established dancers, International – National groups, Purusha Anga, Traditional and new dimension dancers...
Amongst the duets, Amulaya Balabhantray and Debashree Patnaik's performance was liked by many for their picture perfect poses and wonderful co-ordination. The abhinaya piece 'Jhulanti Range' presented by Pabitra Pradhan and Sridutta Bhol was adored by the audience. The evening of Dec 29 was indeed a big feast for all the art lovers. Amongst the solos, Rahul Acharya’s newly composed and well presented 'Sthayee' was in demand. Lingaraj Pradhan presented a graceful piece titled 'Ganga.'
Undoubtedly all the solo dancers got very high critical appreciation from the audience. The evening was rich with performances by these 12 established dancers (Dipti Mishra, Alpana Nayak, Nandini Goshal, Meera Das, Madhusmita Mohanty, Kabita Dwibedi, Leena Mohanty, Snehaprava Samantray, Aruna Mohanty and Sharmila Biswas).
This festival not only promoted the senior artists but also gave a platform to the young and upcoming artists. Ravital, born in Israel, now living in the USA, who performed 'Sankarabaranam Pallavi' said that it was the first time she was performing in India and that too in Orissa and what better could she dream of...and before she could, it was already a wonderful reality.
Apart from this, the festival also shared the stage with a dancer Shakti Swaroopa Bir, who cannot speak or hear. She had been learning dance since her childhood. She presented a beautiful piece, which lasted for about 12 minutes. Her performance was so fine that if it wasn't announced about her being a part of the special talent category, spectators would have hardly been able to tell. Another such brilliant performance was by Nityananda Das, a dancer who had lost one of his legs in an accident. He presented an abhinaya piece 'Mukam Karoti Vaachalam...' which lasted for about 15 minutes. The effect of his dance presentation was such that many in the audience had tears in their eyes. Nityananda's performance was indeed a big inspiration for dance students and other young dancers in the festival.
The festival ended on a successful note. Pratap Das gave his vote of thanks and quoted J F Kennedy, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!" Dr. Kothari, Leela Venkatraman and Dr. Mishra also conveyed their message on the festival. The closing ceremony saw beautiful fireworks with the loud confirmation of the festival's return next year.


- Manasi Pandya [2006]