Chhau dancers perform during Jagannath Darshan Samman 2010 ceremony at Jaydev Bhavan in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 30: The artistes of Mayur Art Centre in Bhubaneswar displayed the much-admired Mayurbhanj chhau at a cultural evening in Jaydev Bhavan on Sunday. The vigour of warriors as well as the leisurely chats of girls was showcased through the rendition.

Out of the three types of chhau dance found in India — Sareikela and Purulia styles — only the Mayurbhanj chhau artistes perform the dance without using masks.

On Sunday, the performance began with a war dance form of the chhau. It is a folk dance typical of Mayurbhanj.

The war dance or judha nritya, part of the kada hathiyar dhara genre of chhau, was a group performance by six artistes holding various weapons. They danced with dynamic body movements to depict the readiness of the warrior community of the erstwhile princely state of Mayurbhanj.

“The body language is the most important part of chhau dance. We do not use masks so that we can use facial expressions to communicate the sentiments and emotions of the theme. The dance form is mostly based on mythological tales, folklore and the lifestyle of tribals,” said Guru Achinta Kumar Behera, who trains people at the Mayur Art Centre.

The second item of the repertoire was rasalata, based on the lifestyle of young girls of the tribal regions of Mayurbhanj.

In this recital, two girls teased each other while performing various household chores. The duet belonged to the palli bhanga genre of chhau. The performance included tribal dances as well as folk dance movements along with classical dance forms.

The most impressive performance by the artistes was the chakravyuha rendition.

Eight of the artistes created the ambience of the epic battle of Mahabharata, depicting the tale of the brave Abhimanyu who attains martyrdom by entering the chakravyuha formation created by the Kauravas.

The recital brought to life the well-known saga of the warrior son of Arjun. It was accompanied by rhythmic music of percussion instruments dhola and dumsa and the char chari and trumpet like mahuri. The chhau dance on interesting themes received good response from the audience.

Indian Council for Cultural Relations along with Shree Jagannath Darsha Pratisthan organised the performance.