Post news network
Bhubaneswar, Dec 26: Odissi artistes from four continents – North America, Asia, Australia and Europe – are going to perform at the five-day International Odissi dance festival inaugurated at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar, Monday.
The first day of the fest, organised by the state department of tourism and culture in association with Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre, saw performance by regional artistes from Kolkata and Bhubaneswar, and those from USA.
The dancers to perform in the rest four days of the event hail from Australia, Hungary, Japan, Canada, Malaysia, Korea and Singapore. The fest is a platform for such dancers, from diverse cultures and backgrounds, to showcase their talent in the Indian classical dance form.
The programme was attended by the tourism and culture minister Ashok Chandra Panda. He said: “Odissi is no longer confined to Orissa. It is a platform for dancers from different backgrounds from across the world to show how gracefully they can perform the classical dance art.”
Commissioner-cum-secretary Manoranjan Panigrahy and director Amarendra Kumar Patnaik from the culture department, and renowned Odissi dancers Minati Mishra and Kumkum Mohanty were also present on the inaugural day of the event.
