The five-day-long annual Konark Festival of classical dances concluded here on a grand note with a serene performance by Bhutanese artists and a scintillating presentation by Odissi exponents on Friday.
In the musical renderings of the Bhutanese artists and their dance recitals as well, the distinctive dress and language and the tradition of the Bhutanese people found clear expression.
Then, Odissi dancers entered the stage taking the choreography of Guru Durga Charan Ranbir. They began with Soma Mangalam depicting the disastrous love of the moon god which led to his waxing and waning.
This was followed by Sthayee Nrittya embodying the nuances and grammar of Odissi. The last item was Jagannatha Gopinath, which established lord Jagannath as a Mahabhava manifestation of lord Krishna. The dancers brought out a parallel between the activities of Krishna in Dwaparayuga and the rituals of lord Jagannath.
The evening’s programme commenced with lighting of lamp by Minister of Tourism & Culture Ashok Chandra Panda, Minister of Sports & Youth Affairs Sudam Marandi, Kakatpur MlA Surendra Sethi, Bhubaneswar Mayor AN Jena, Tourism & Culture Secretary-cum-Commissioner Dr Arabinda Padhee and Director of Culture Susil Das.
Besides, the successful sand artists and artists of the painting camp were felicitated in the end. In the International Sand Festival 2014 held near Konark simultaneously with the dance festival, the first prize went to Bulu Mohanty from Puri, the second prize to Subala Moharana from Bhubaneswar and the third prize to Jitendra Kishore Jagdev from Puri.