Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Dec 23: That Odissi is not limited just to the state but has become a cultural movement the world over was amply proved the other day when dancers from countries like Russia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Singapore, and Muscat gave scintillating performances at the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya as part of the World Odissi Festival.
A total of 212 Odissi dancers from across the world are participating in the festival, which is being conducted in three categories: junior, senior and international. Dancers are judged by three-member juries comprising veteran Odissi dancers who will assign marks to the participants. “Those who will score more than 70 per cent will be honoured with the ‘Odissi Pratibha’ title by the jury,” said Shyamhari Chakra, a dance critic, who is also one of the organisers.
Further, on the concluding day that is Wednesday, ten top dancers will be selected who will get a chance to perform at the global level next year, and will be recognized as ‘Top Ten Talents’ (TTT) in the Odissi world.
While seniors waited for their turn backstage, the last dancer from junior category, Doetri Ghosh, an eight-year-old girl from the United States, performed in front of hundreds of visitors without a trace of nervousness or cold feet. After the end of the show, the organiser came onstage to inform the audience that the young girl had hurt her elbow badly a day before while rehearsing. The audience let out a collective gasp, as it was impossible to tell from Ghosh’s performance that she was injured.
“I hit a pillar while rehearsing for the performance,” Ghosh said in a heavy American accent. When asked if she was pressurised her by parents to perform, she said, “No. I wanted to dance.”
“I never thought I’d be able to perform. But I wanted to give it a try and today it just worked,” Ghosh said to wide applause from the audience.
The show saw dancers from Kolkata, Bangalore, Ranchi, Rourkela, and New Delhi in junior and senior categories, while in international category Odissi dancers from abroad performed along with dancers from New Delhi, Bangalore, Agartala and Kolkata in the same category.
The top ten winners will be announced on the concluding day of the week-long festival Wednesday.