The World Dance Day was celebrated by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in collaboration with the Odissi Dancers’ Council and GKCM Odissi Research Centre at the Utkal Sangeeta Mahavidyalaya here on Monday.
The daylong celebration was held in two parts; a talk on Natyashastra and an Odissi dance recital Nrutya Kadamba. Describing Natyashastra, the backbone of Indian culture, noted comparative cultures historian Dr Bharat Gupt defined how Natya is not just drama, not just music or theatre as per Indian definition.
“It is everything, all of it together and therefore whatever activity the Nat does is Natya. Modern dances are not dances but similar to body movements of a person suffering from epilepsy,” he explained while delivering the talk on Natyashastra. “The present generation is crazy to watch modern and Western dances but shows averseness towards our traditional and cultural dances; so, we have to come together to reestablish the charms of Indian dance forms,” he said, ruing how the classical dance forms are getting degraded and adjusted to match the modern demand. “They are compromising with the purity and originality just to please a specific group in the society,” he lamented.
In the evening, the celebration continued exploring vibrant aspects of Odissi in Nrutya Kadamba that staged Odissi dance programmes including performances by the artists of the Devadasi Dance Akademi, Guru Pankaj Charan Das Odissi Research Foundation, lasyakala and Art Vision and Srjan’s Odissi dance recital Bhagabate Stotra.
Originally composed by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Bhagwati Stotram, a salutation to the Divine Goddess, was recomposed by Guru Ratikant Mohapatra. With proper Mudras and elegant movements, the piece was a brilliant choreography that lacked proper execution in Abhinaya.
ICCR Regional Director Minakshi Mishra, noted Odissi exponent and Guru Padmashri Ileana Citaristi and Guru Ratikant Mohapatra of Srjan were present on the occasion.