Odissi is an indian classical dance form originated in state of Odisha, India and its history can be traced back to the 2nd century B.C. Odissi originated mainly from the confluence of two traditions: the Mahari (temple dancers) who performed sacred dance rituals inside the temple, and Gotipua (literally means single boys, this tradition is still alive), dress up as females, galbrous faces painted like the Mahari’s ones, who for centuries have performed outside the temple’s walls. After a glorious tradition over several centuries Odissi dance suffered many losses due to various reasons and the true art slowly receded towards oblivion. After the attainment of independence an attempt was made to restore this valuable art.Like most of the other Indian dances, Odissi was also recoded in its present form in the post- independence period in India. Odissi, as performed nowadays, is the result of strenuous efforts made by Gurus, young dancers and scholars of Orissa, who have dedicated their lives to the cause. It is a relatively modern form which combined elements from folk performing, chauu dance (martial art form), Mahari and Gotipua tradition, visual art as patachitra paintings traditions, ancient temple sculptures,….. Today Odissi is a well estabilished and codified classical dance form of India , a dance of love, delight, intense passion, lyrical, but also modern and global where divine and human are rolled into one.
The style: Odissi is characterised by percussive footwork, codified hand gestures, facial expressions and a very gentle and soft movement of the torso. Elegant and refined style due to its sculptural poses it is rooted on one side in the classical tradition of the indian dance-theater and on the other side in the indigenous specific form. The dances range from ‘Nritta’ (pure dance) to ‘Nritya’ (interpretative dance), and are a fusion of ‘lasya’ (feminine and fluid) and ‘tandava’ (masculine and vigorous). The Odissi technique has been developed around two principal positions of the body: Chouka (square) in which the presiding male deity of the universe is represented and the tribhanga (tri-bent pose) position in which his consort personified female energy is depicted. Odissi has an elaborate dance vocabulary that allow to develop an extraordinary spatial and body awarness and as well as musicality. Throught the movements, facial expressions, hand gestures (mudras), the techinque of bhava-Rasa we can convey stories, emotions, characters mainly related to Hindu myhtology.