BHUBANESWAR: A global confluence of arts through the twin annual events of Konark Festival of classical dance and International Sand Art Festival 2018 would be witnessed at the state’s black pagoda Konark temple soon.
A press conference regarding this was held at Panthaniwas here Thursday.Ashok Chandra Panda, Minister, Tourism and Culture, President of Lalit Kala Akademi Sudarshan Patnaik, OTDC Dirctor Dillip Tirkey and Director of tourism Archana Patnaik graced the occasion.Ashok Panda said, “The 30th edition of the Konark festival will be held at the Open Air auditorium with Konark temple as the back drop. From December 1 to 5, 2018, the dance programme will be held from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM. The event will showcase the best of India’s traditional and classical dance forms.”
“Eminent dancers like Durga Charan Ranbir, Sharmila Biswas, Anewesa Mohanta and their groups from all over India will perform at the event. Classical dance forms like Odissi, Bharatnatyam, Manipuri, Kathak, Kuchipudi and Sattriya will enthral all at this five-day event,” he added.
On similar lines, the eight edition of International Sand Art Festival will be conducted on the pristine beach of Chandrabhaga. The event will span for qa period of 10 AM to 10PM on the day. The global competition will witness participation of 101 artistes from India, USA, Netherlands, Spain and Sri Lanka among others. The competition will follow the established pattern of day-wise themes based on which participating artists will create their works. Renowned Sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik, who also happens to be the brand ambassador of the event, will create a special sand art based on the ongoing men’s Hockey World Cup.
