Bhubaneswar: The 15th annual dance festival of Debadasi, Nrutyanjali, got kicked off at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar, Monday. It is a two-day event.
Debadasi, founded in 2000 by Rojalin Mohapatra, is an institute engaged in teaching and promoting Odissi dance. It has played a prominent role in popularising and promoting Odissi in the country and abroad.
On the first day of the event students of Debadasi performed Odissi dance, palli nrutya, Sambalpuri nrutya and Odissi dance drama. Guest artistes will perform on the second day of the festival.
The Nrutyanjali Samman this year will be given to Guru Bichitrananada Swain, an eminent Odissi dancer and choreographer.
Secretary of Debadasi said, “We are organising the event to promote Odissi dance and provide knowledge to various people about the dance form in India and abroad. Students learning Odissi dance from here are making a great career. So we want to inculcate the spirit of Odissi dance in each and every one.”
One of the students, Manisha Manaswani, said, “This is a nice platform where we can showcase our talent. I feel very proud to be a member of an organisation where after learning we get the chance to perform at the stage.”
An artiste, Sandhya Rani Pradhan, said, “I love to perform on stage as I think we get a lot of things to learn from it and moreover we also learn to shed our fear which we get after seeing a big crowd.”
Performances which were showcased Monday were – Saraswati Bandana, Mangalacharana, Batu Nrutya, Ki Sundara Aha, Chandana Charchita, Bansianuraga, Pallintrutya, Rangabati and a Sambalpuri dance.
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