Bhubaneswar: Konark Festival witnessed touching dancing choreographies in classical Kathak, Odissi and Kuchipudi on the second and third day of the festival, leaving the audience spellbound. The Abhinav Dance Company from Bangalore performed at the open-air stage of Konark with the Sun Temple, at the backdrop, where they staged a soul-stirring choreography in Kathak under the supervision of Nirupama-Rajendra, the artiste couple.
The artiste in Kathak came up with Laya-Lasya, a unique composition integrating two energies of power and grace as mentioned in Natyasastra. This was followed by Raasa Leela, marking Lord Krishna’s ecstatic dance of love with the Gopies and Radha. The concluding performance in Kathak was Chathurang, enumerating four aspects of music and dance Sahitya , Sargam, Nritya and Tarana. In the second round of the programme, renowned dancer Dona Ganguly and her disciples of Dikshya Manjari prsented Odissi composition, ‘Journey through Odissi.’ The choreography brought out the devotion, and grace of Odissi defining its traditional aspects and touch of creativity.
The third evening of Konark festival saw Odissi and Kuchipudi performance by Malaysia based Sutra Foundation and Delhi based Vanashree dance group. The artistes of Sutra Foundation led by Guru Ramli Ibrahim came up with a unique choreography entitled Ganjam. The dance composition included Mangalacharan, Laxmi-Narasimha stutee taken from Prahallad Natak of Ganjam. It was followed by Sthai, depicting the artistic postures found in the temple walls, based on Sakhi Nata tradition of Ganjam.
The next recital was Rama Bhajan prayer from the narratives of Daskathia, another popular folk art form of Gajnam. The Odissi dance concluded with Yogini-Mokhshya, the creation of yoginis from the yogic power of Lord Siva. The evening’s other attraction was classical Kuchipudi presented by Vanashree Rao from Rasa united New Delhi. The artistes enthralled the audience with Ananda Tandav, followed by Mahisasura Mardini, pure dance Tillana and a prayer dance dedicated to lord Siva and Krishna.
PNN