Kuchipudi dancer from Mumbai Amrita Lahiri and (right) Odissi dancer from Bangalore Pavitra Reddy perform at Udayaraga. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, July 6: Two back-to-back cultural festivals held in a city gave audiences much to rejoice.

While a fiesta of solo classical performances, Udayaraga, concluded on Friday, the festival of devotional songs, Guhari, ended this evening.

Organised by the city-based cultural organisation Odisha Dance Academy at Jayadev Bhavan, Udayaraga presented an array of scintillating Odissi, Kuchipudi, Kathak and Bharatanatyam performances. The first day of the festival saw danseuses such as Lipsa Dash from New Delhi, Pavitra Bhat from Mumbai and Sonali Mohapatra of Bhuabneswar mesmerising audiences with beautiful classical renditions. While Dash and Mohapatra performed Odissi, Bhat received accolades for her Bharatanatyam recital.

On the second day, Pavitra Reddy from Bangalore and Gitanjali Acharya from New Delhi presented Odissi, while Shreelakshmy Govardhan from Kerala displayed swift feet movements. Amrita Lahiri from Mumbai, Bijan Kumar Palai from Bhubaneswar and Gauri Diwakar from New Delhi gave a befitting conclusion to the festival with their Kuchipudi, Odissi and Kathak recitals, respectively.

The festival aimed to revive the spirit and the charm of solo dance performances. “Solo dance has been the core strength of Indian classical dance forms. Due to popularity of group performances, opportunities for solo programmes are decreasing. It is our humble attempt to provide eminent dancers and young talents to showcase their individual brilliance,” said Aruna Mohanty, who runs the academy.

Paying obeisance to Lord Jagannath, a festival of devotional songs was organised by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre. The three-day festival that aimed at inculcating spirituality and purity in thought and action among the people took place at Bhanja Kala Mandap.

The soiree is being organised by the centre for the last three years and features 30 singers from across the state. A number of devotional songs, including bhajan and janana, were sung during the festival, which was conducted under the careful guidance of noted music director Prasant Padhi.