Featuring Odishi dancers from four foreign countries, Russia, Japan, China and the USA, apart from India, the Odisha Government hosted the annual International Odishi Dance Festival (IODF) that was inaugurated at the Rabindra Mandap here on Tuesday. The annual event that was launched in 2006 as a national festival for Odishi dance and music is being hosted by the State-run Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre (ORC). It was upgraded to an international event in 2011, but the Odishi music segment was removed from the festival next year.
Dates of the five-day festival are fixed from December 26 to 30 in the Department of Culture’s annual calendar.
Budgeted at Rs 25 lakh, the festival this year features above 100 solo dancers, 15 duets and 15 troupes. “About Rs 18 lakh goes towards payment of performance fee to the dancers. We also offer them travel expenses and local hospitality,” informed an official.
The inaugural evening witnessed an impressive solo dance recital by Kolkata-based senior dancer Rina Jana, a disciple of legendary Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, and a brilliant group presentation by US-based Urvasi Dance Ensemble led by its founder and director Professor Ratna Roy, well-known as the senior-most exponent of the distinct Guru Pankaj Charan Das gharana of Odishi dance besides being a globally-renowned scholar.
The first day of the festival presented 13 solo, three duets and three group performances.
The festival was collectively inaugurated by Bhubaneswar MP Prasanna Patsani and MlA Priyadarshi Mishra, Odishi exponents Kumkum Mohanty, Ileana Citaristi, Aruna Mohanty and Ratikant Mohapatra, Odisha lalit Kala Akademi President Raghunath Mohapatra, former Commissioner of Culture AK Tripathy and ORC Chief Executive Sangita Gosain.