ODISSI DANCE B.A III

1. ODISSI DANCE B.A III Dept.of dance

2. INTRODUCTION • Odissi or Orissi is one of the pre-eminent classical dance forms of India which originated in the Hindu temples of the eastern coastal state of Odisha in India. Its theoretical base trace back to ‘NatyaShastra’, the ancient Sanskrit Hindu text on the performing arts. Age-old tradition of Odissi is manifested from Odisha Hindu temples and various sites of archaeological significance that are associated with Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, the sculptures of which adorn dance postures of this art form. A form of illustrative anecdote of mythical and religious stories, devotional poems and spiritual ideas emoted by dancer with excellent body movements, expressions, impressive gestures and sign languages, its performance repertoire includes invocation, nrita, nritya, natya, and moksha. This dance form includes themes from Vaishnavism and others associated with Hindu gods and goddesses like Shiva, Surya and Shakti.

3. REPERTOIRE • Performance repertoire of Odissi sequentially includes an invocation followed by nritta, nritya, natya, and moksha. The invocation called Mangalacharana is performed followed by offering of flowers called Pushpanjali and salutation to mother earth referred as BhumiPranam. Next in line is performance of Batu or BatukaBhairava or BattuNrutya or SthayeeNrutya which is pure dance or nritta dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is performed only on rhythmic music without any recitation or singing. The next part is nritya that encompass expressional dance or Abhinaya to communicate a story, song or poetry through hand gestures or mudras, emotions or bhavas and eye and body movements. The next part natya includes a dance drama based on Hindu mythological texts and epics. An Odissi performance is concluded with the dance movement referred as Moksha that aims to communicate a feeling of emancipation of the soul

4. COSTUME • The female dancers wear brightly coloured sari usually made of local silk adorned with traditional and local designs such as the BomkaiSaree and the SambalpuriSaree. The front part of the sari is worn with pleats or a separate pleated cloth stitched in front to ensure flexibility of movements of the dancer while showcasing excellent footwork. Silver Jewellery adorns her head, ear, neck, arms and wrists. Musical anklets called ghunghru made of leather straps with small metallic bells attached to it are wrapped in her ankles while her waist is tied with an elaborate belt. Her feet and palms are brightened with red coloured dyes called alta. She wears a tikka on forehead and outlines her eyes prominently with Kajal so as to make her eye movements more visible. Her hair is tied in a bun and beautified with Seenthi. A moon shaped crest of white flowers or a Mukoot that is a reed crown with peacock feathers symbolising Lord Krishna may adorn the hairdo. 

5. MUSIC • The unique feature of this dance form is that it incorporates Indian ragas, both from south and north that indicate exchange of concepts and performance arts between the two parts of India. ‘Shokabaradi’, ‘Karnata’, ‘Bhairavee’, ‘Dhanashri’, ‘Panchama’, ‘Shree Gowda’, ‘Nata’, ‘Baradi’ and ‘Kalyana’ are the main ragas of Odissi. The musical instruments include tabla, pakhawaj, harmonium, cymbals, violin, flute, sitar and Swarmandal.    

6. Costume • The Ras costume consists of a richly embroidered stiff skirt which extends to the feet. These skirts or lehngas are called ‘Kumin’ and also a ‘patloi’named cloth worn by females • A short fine white muslin skirt is worn over it. A dark coloured velvet blouse covers the upper part of the body and a traditional white veil is worn over a special hair-do which falls gracefully over the face. Krishna wears a yellow dhoti, a dark velvet jacket and a crown of peacock feathers. The jewellery is very delicate and the designs are unique to the region.