USA-based dancer Ratna Roy’s troupe performs thali Odissi dance and bandha yoga at the ongoing Odissi International festival in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 20: A spectacular performance by artistes from USA, under the guidance of veteran Odissi exponent Ratna Roy, was the highlight of the second evening of Odissi International under way at the Bhanja Kala Mandap in the city.

On Thursday, the troupe showcased a unique form of Odissi that left the audience enthralled.

The troupe displayed a form of pallavi, a pure dance item, having intricate steps and expressions in a rhythmic pattern.

The five artistes expressed beautiful movements and gestures. They appeared on the stage carrying flat metal plates or thali that had flaming lamps on it.

After presenting a series of steps, the dancers picked the thalis and balanced them on both hands while continuing the fast paced steps. Rotating the lamp lit thalis with care, the artistes of Ratna Roy’s Urvasi Odissi Ensemble won loud rounds of applause when they displayed this unique element in Odissi.

But the applause turned louder when their only male dancer performed some stunning acrobatic movements known as bandha yoga in Odissi, more often seen in Gotipua.

With his hands on the ground, he balanced the body with perfection and moved his legs to win the audience’s hearts with his yoga postures.

Later, the troupe also showcased an abhinaya. The same troupe, this time led by their guru Ratna Roy, left the viewers mesmerised with a brilliant display of an episode from Mahabharat. The danseuse, a leading disciple of the first Odissi guru Pankaj Charan Das, was agile and swift even after four decades of dancing.

“I am glad to be here among Odissi dancers and dance lovers. It is a wonderful effort by the Odissi fraternity to bring together dancers from all over the country and from across the globe,” she said.

The audience cheered loud for the beautiful performance.

“We had seen thali dance by artistes in Bharatnatyam more often. But in Odissi rarely performers try to bring in these elements. It was wonderful to see the artistes do it with such meticulousness,” said Manoj Pradhan, a viewer.

Among other interesting performances of the day were those by Sarbani Nandy from Tripura, Rinku Kumar Sahoo from city based Srjan established by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and Sanatani Rombola of Italy, Oskana Suslova from Ukraine, Svetlana Gadalina of Moscow and Jia Reen, Johar Baru from Malayasia.