Showcasing the folklores and the great mythological tales, Chhau dance has evolved as one of the best theatrical forms. The artists of the city learned this form in a Mayubhanj Chhau Dance Workshop that concluded here on Monday.
The workshop was organised by Kirti Ballet and Performing Arts at Mayaram Srijan Smriti Bhavan. The workshop was organised collaboratively with Sangeet Natak Akademi. It had a grand closure on Monday with spontaneous performances.
On this occasion, senior playwright Mukesh Sharma and noted writer-sitarist Pramod Tambat and Dietician Nidhi Dewan were present. The programme was conducted by Vibha Shrivastava.
The programme started with Deepaprajavalan. The participants first performed the required physical exercises on Chhau Bol and Counting, then performed 6 chalis - (Plain Chali, Mudra, Lehra, Dheu, Duba and Her) with a shield - sword and bow.
Finally, Mayurbhanj Chhau's famous dance composition - Geeta was performed.
Chhau Guru Chandra Madhav Barik also shared information about Chhau's history. Informing about the Chhau dance, Barik said, “Usually people recognize Chhau dance with heavy masks and the folklore told in extravagant way. But, the Mayurbhanj Chhau dance is practiced without masks. Besides, the themes for chhau dance include local legends, folklore and other abstract themes.”
The Mayurbhanj chhau has highly evolved techniques of its own for which it differenciates itself from other forms of dance. The martial arts technique in Mayurbhanj Chhau makes it even more impactful, added Barik.
Keeping the COVID 19 directives in mind, the event was organised with limited audience. Besides, precautions of sanitizing the place and wearing masks were also taken care of.