RDM Studio

Odissi

Odissi is the temple dance from the eastern state of Odisha. 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. The origins of this dance can be traced back to the 2nd century B.C. carvings of the Rani Gumpa caves in Odisha. The Natya Shastra refers to this dance as Odar Magadha. It is considered to be one of the oldest dances in the world.
Odissi draws heavily from the Gotipua and the Maharis dance tradition. The Maharis dedicated their lives to the worship of Lord Jagannath. They performed this sacred art in the sanctity of the temples. The dance was brought out into the public by young boys, Gotipuas who were dressed in female attire. After the 17th century there was a decline in royal patronage. Lack of funds and prestige meant that the dancers fell into disrepute. It was only in the 1950’s that there was a massive undertaking by scholars and revivalist Gurus to reconstruct Odissi.

Guru Pankaj Charan Das, the Guru of all Gurus along with Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Guru Deb Prasad Das and Guru Mayadhar Raut did extensive research. They studied the Gotipuas and Maharis dance traditions, the temple sculptures of Orissa and ancient treatises in order to revive this dance tradition.

In their efforts to re-construct Odissi, the Revivalist Gurus were deeply inspired by the beautiful sculptures in the temple walls of Odisha. Odissi gives the illusion of a Sculpture In Motion. This dance is characterized by the square stance, Chowka, denoting Lord Jagannath, the main deity of Odissi and the S shaped, Tribhangi denoting Krishna.

In this dance style, the Tandava or vigorous, bold, masculine movements are interwoven with the softer, graceful, feminine Lasya movements. The Bakshachala or upper rib cage movements are skillfully combined with intrinsic foot work and typical spins. Another unique feature of Odissi is the extensive movement of the wrist and heels. Odissi music draws from both the North Indian and Carnatic or South Indian music system.