Post News Network
Bhubaneswar:The Rabindra Mandap auditorium pulsed with patriotism as US-based Odissi danseuse Aparupa Chatterji and her group pre- sented the Odissi recital Vandematram, an invocation to the motherland, at the International Odissi Dance Festival in the city Thursday.
Aparupa, a disciple of Guru Ratikanta Mohaptra, was per- fect in emotion and gestures in her dance and won the hearts of the audience. The recital was set to the taal Ektaal. Her second presentation was Ye Ho Vithala, a neo- classical Odissi piece in praise of Lord Krishna. Speaking to Orissa POST, Aparupa said, “Vithala is another name of Lord Krishna. This com- position was written by poet Maharashtrian Namdev. It is an experimental Odissi recital that praises Lord Krishna.” Aparupa Chatterji started teaching Odissi in many places in the US as she was passionate about Odissi. “I feel privileged to teach Odissi,” she added.
Meanwhile, internation- ally acclaimed Odissi dancer Saswat Joshi presented a tra- ditional dance based on the song Dinabandhu Hai. Saswat said, “The recital depicts the story of a devotee of Lord Jagannath who wants to enter the Jagannath temple with his many prayers and re- quests. The devotee also vis- its Anand Bazaar to partake of the temple’s holy food. Meanwhile, the devotee also demands that the Lord should meet him.” The dance was choreo- graphed by Padmashree awardee Ileana Citaristi. Saswat has performed at major dance festivals and ven- ues across the world like
Japan, the UK, Canada, Europe and India. He has also participated in many work- shops on Odissi dance in South Korea, Europe, Italy and Japan. Saswat has also choreo- graphed dance productions for the stage and television and has also participated in sev- eral national level dance com- petitions. Pabitra Kumar Pradhan was among the other Odissi dancers who left the audience enthralled. Pabitra presented Prakruti Purusha, a dedicated recital to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. The dance was choreographed by renowned Odissi dancer Aruna Mohanty and its music was composed by Bijay Kumar Jena. The third day of the Odissi dance fest organised by Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre in as- sociation with the state Tourism and Culture Department, witnessed around 19 dancers who mes- merized the fully packed hall with their recitals.
