The State Government-organised five-day annual International Odishi Dance Festival concluded at the Rabindra Mandap here on Monday evening.
The day showcased five group presentations, seven duets and 24 soloists featuring dancers from China, Taiwan and Australia in addition to a large number of participants from India, particularly from host Odisha.
Cuttack-based well-known dancer Meera Das was the principal attraction of the concluding day with her performance of an episode from The Ramayana in which Hanuman meets Sita in Ravan’s Lanka with a message from Lord Rama.
The other soloists included Sam Goraya from Australia, Wei Lan and Wo Fan from China, Heidy Hsin from Taiwan, Namita Ray from Bhubaneswar, Tejaswini Pallai from host Odishi Research Centre, Dhara Mohapatra from the USA, Soumya Sephalika Das of Odisha who is currently based in South Africa, Mitali Priya Giri and Arunima Acharya from the Orissa Dance Academy, Pragyan Paramita Das from Srjan and Meghana Mohanty from Nrutyayana.
In the duet dance segment, Mumbai’s Mitali Varadkar and Shreya Subhra Sabarwal, both disciples of Guru Shubhada Varadkar, were the most impressive. And as expected, Bhubaneswar-based Nakshyatra Gurukul staged the best group presentation of the day.