Featuring more than 200 dancers, dance scholars and exponents of various dance styles from India and abroad, the ninth edition of the India International Dance Festival (IIDF) was staged at the Bhanja Kala Mandap auditorium here that concluded on Wednesday.
The four-day event was hosted by city-based cultural forum Samskritiki.
“IIDF was launched in Bhubaneswar in 2015 and it has become a multi-city event in the meanwhile. It happens regularly in Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Mumbai while its chapters are set to be launched in Pune, Guwahati, Nagpur, Chennai and Bhopal soon,” informed festival director Shyamhari Chakra.
“Celebrating dance without divisions” has been the idea behind this event that seeks to bring together tribal, folk, classical, martial and contemporary dance styles on a common platform, he explained.
The dance styles that the IIDF presented here included Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri, Mohiniattam, Sattriya, Chhau, Jhumar and Sambalpuri. Dancers and dance researchers from Australia, Japan, Malayasia, Romania, Singapore and the USA joined the festival in addition to a large number of dancers from all over India. “We were thrilled to watch three enchanting dance forms of Odisha for the first time. These were Chhau, Jhumar and Sambalpuri,” shared Kavita Supramaniam from Malayasia. Added Anjelika Marinescu from Romania who performed Odishi for the first time in Odisha, “It was a wonderful experience to come across such a unique festival where all dance traditions are equally appreciated.”
The IIDF Future Face Award meant for outstanding young dancers in the age group of 20 to 30 was conferred on Anjali from city-based Rawa Academy during the festival.