(Top) Ramli Ibrahim and Sashadhar Acharya with their troupes perform at the Konark Dance Festival. Pictures by Sarat Patra

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 4: The Konark Dance Festival has become a convergence of spirituality and art.

Odissi recitals and other dance forms have been illustrating the power of divinity and its influence on mankind at the festival. Other novel and fascinating themes were also seen on the second and third day of the event.

Odissi Guru Pitambar Biswal’s troupe, Suravi from Bhubaneswar, weaved a magic on Friday evening. As the Sun Temple glistened in moonlight behind the dancers, they evoked Lord Vishnu and Shiva through Harihara sabda.

A soulful pallavi rendition depicted the traditional dance movements and postures, following which Dhara Sri Radha, an abhinaya sequence expressing the divine bond between Krishna and gopis, cast its spell on the viewers.

The chhau rendition by New Delhi-based Guru Sashadhar Acharya and his disciples was the highlight of the evening. The team presented five renditions. The Sareikela Chhau, troupe starting with an invocation of the gods through jatra ghat, moved on to a composition portraying the romance of Radha and Krishna. Ratri, their next item, paid reverence to nature through choreography.

The martial techniques of Sareikela chhau was showcased in Yodha, that was a blend of acrobatic movements and synchronisation.

Sticking to tradition and yet composing a master piece, kuchipudi guru Jai Kishore Mosalikanti and his artistes from Chennai, won rave response of the connoisseurs, who were enthralled with their performance. The piece describing Lord Krishna’s different aspects, specially his bond with Yashoda, was magical.

The Thillana was a delightful watch for the viewers, who got to see refined postures and pure dance steps of kuchipudi.

The concluding piece of Arathi was also brilliant, with Mosalikanti leading from the front, mainly when it came to expressive facial emotions.

Malaysian Odissi dancer Ramli Ibrahim presented an energetic repertoire of the dance form in his composition Vision of forever. But, purists would differ about the refinement of the choreography.

The composition included some awe-inspiring moves of the female dancers while Ramli, himself, presented captivating movement and expressions. The enthusiasm of the troupe was amazing to see whereas there was much scope for inclusion of pure Odissi elements. Some portions even seemed redundant. However, the crowd appreciated the dancers’ efforts. “The performance of the Malaysian troupe was innovative though the traditional aspects of Odissi could have been included. The Kuchipudi rendition was remarkable,” said Shikha Mishra, a dance connoisseur.

The dance festival, organised by the Odisha tourism and culture department, will conclude on Monday.