Odissi

Odissi is the temple dance from the eastern state of Orissa. This lyrical and sensuous dance brings to life the sculptures adorning the walls of the Sun Temple at Konarak and the Jagannath Temple at Puri. Its flowing movements and sculpture like poses bring forth the beauty of the ancient temples. The origins of this classical dance can be traced back to the 2^nd century B.C. carvings of the Rani Gumpa Caves in Udaygiri, Orissa. The Natya Shastra refers to the dance style as Odra Magadha. It is said to be one of the oldest dances in the world. 

This style of dance draws heavily from both the Gotipuas and the Maharis tradition. The Maharis were dancing girls, who dedicated their lives to Lord Jagannath. Dance was performed as a sacred ritual and was strictly restricted to the temples. It was the Gotipuas (young boys dressed in female attire), who brought the dance out to the public. After the 17^th century, there was a decline in royal patronage. Lack of funds and prestige meant that dancers fell into disrepute and were looked down upon by society. 

Reconstruction of Odissi was initiated in the 1950's by scholars and master Gurus like Kelucharan Mohapatra, Mayadhar Raut, Deb Prasad Das, Pankaj Charan Das, and Mahadev Raut. They did extensive research on dance treatises like Natya Shastra, Abhinaya Darpan, Abhinaya Chandrika, and Natya Manorma.

Religion has had a deep impact on Odissi specially the Vaishnava and Shaiva sects of Hinduism. The essence of Abhinaya in Odissi has been the Sanskrit work, Gita Govinda written by the 12^th century poet, Jayadev. Gita Govinda comprises of 24 ashtapadis or 8 verse poems and revolves around the eternal love of Radha and Krishna.

Like other Indian dances, Odissi has tandava or vigorous, masculine movements, as well as lasya or feminine, graceful movements. The dancer's aim is to attain unity with God through dance. 

The two unique poses of Odissi are the chowka or the square like stance denoting Lord Jagannath and the tribhangi or the S shaped 3 bends of the head, torso, and knees. These stances are skillfully blended in this style. The dance comprises of the nritta or pure dance, nritya or dance combined with abhinaya, and natya or drama. The nava rasa or the 9 moods are depicted by the dancer using various facial and hand gestures. A typical repertoire would include the invocatory manglacharan, battu nritta, pallavi set in different ragas, abhinaya, and finally mokshya. Musical instruments accompanying the dance are the pakhawaj or the two headed drum, bansuri or the flute, sitar, manjira or cymbals, tanpura, and violin. Vocal accompaniment is mostly in either Sanskrit or Oriya.

Today Odissi is once more at the forefront of the vibrant Indian cultural scene with various teachers and performers working extensively to promote it at the international level.