Bhubaneswar, July 15: Dance aficionados will once again explore the divine connection of classical dance during the Devdasi National Dance festival, which will be held in late September. The seventh edition of the annual dance festival, which highlights the spiritual aspect of various Indian dance forms, will feature dancers from all over the globe.

The festival mostly showcases temple ritual dances — the Indian classical dance forms that evolved from the temple performances by the devdasis. This year, the three-day event will include performances in 10 forms of Indian dances that have been associated with places of worship.

From Odisha’s very own Mahari dance, which used to be performed by the devdasis at Jagannath temple in Puri to Vilashini Natyam from Andhra Pradesh, the enthusiasts will get to see lesser-known dance styles along with the eight classical dances.

“The festival brings together all classical dance forms of the country. The spiritual content of dances, which have originated from a religious set up, is communicated to the audience. We wish to uphold the art forms that emerged from the temples since their confinement within the religious boundaries is slowly leading to their extinction,” said Jagabandhu Jena, the secretary of Devdasi Nrutya Mandir that organises the event.

Eminent artistes, as well as young talents, will perform at the festival, which will be held at the Rabindra Mandap auditorium in the capital.

The festival will feature Mahari dancer Pratima Mohanty from Puri, Kathak dancers Gauri Diwakar and Swati Sinha from New Delhi, Odissi artistes Irina and Tassia from Russia, Sandhya Manoj (Malaysia), Natalie from London, Arashi Mudgal from New Delhi, Bharatnatyam dancer Meenakshi Srinivasan from Chennai, Sattriya artiste Kakoli Pathak from Guwahati, Vilashini Natyam by Yashoda Thakur from Hyderabad, Kuchipudi by Pranamya Suri from the US, Mohiniattam by Kalamandalam Nimmi from Kerala and Manipuri by Debanjali Biswas from Calcutta.

The Devdasi Award will be presented to Kathakali dancer Haripriya Nambudiri. The awards are presented every year to an artiste of a different form of Indian classical dance. Last year, Bharatnatyam danseuse Mythili Prakash won the award.