Artistes from different dance troupes perform at the three-day National Contemporary Dance Festival, Samakala, in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, June 14: It was a medley of dance and music at the first-ever National Contemporary Dance Festival — Samakala — held in the capital.

The festival that concluded on Wednesday was organised by the Odisha tourism at the Rabindra Mandap here.

The first performance on the inaugural day was by Bharat Sharma and his Bhoomika Creative Dance Centre troupe from Delhi.

The troupe performed two abstract sequences using symbolic depiction of the themes.

The first piece — Rangavali — was choreographed with elements from kathak and merged with expressive facial and body movements. The costumes of the artistes represented the colours on the Indian national flag.

The movements of the dancers defined the meaning of each of the colours used in the flag. Then, the dancers came together on the centre of the stage, moving circularly forming a chakra or the wheel on the flag.

The piece was performed on music that included the piece called Jatakmala, which is based on the tales related to the followers of Buddha.

The choreography portrayed human behaviour and moral values.

Artistes were seen using steps from martial dance forms as well as modern dance styles.

However, not many in the audience seemed to interpret the performance.

“Though abstract dance uses its own liberty, the concept and the story told in the dance item should have been more clear for the viewer. On occasions it seemed the troupe was emphasising on the dance movements and the props and forgetting the theme itself,” said a viewer Arun Palur.

Panchatantra, the well-known ensemble of gospels, was performed by the next troupe led by choreographer Ananda Shankar Jayant.

From perfect costumes for the different tales showcased in the sequence to formations and movements on stage by the artistes, the last performance of the first day received a lot of appreciation from the viewers.

The performance by internationally acclaimed contemporary danseuse, Mamata Shankar, took the second day of Samakala to a new height.

Shankar’s Amritasya Putra was clearly an epitome of ingenuity and stagecraft. The crux of the dance drama was soul, which plays various roles once it enters a human form and passes through different stages of life.

What first caught the eyes of the audience was the aesthetic and very innovative choreography that looked mesmerising after it was beautifully presented with soft lights and the background score. The dance troupe displayed spectacular co-ordination and precision.

The performance received a standing ovation.

The second performance of the evening was by Bangalore-based contemporary dancer Madhu Nataraj’s troupe Sankalan. The composition was an eclectic mix of photographic art, interactive multimedia design and martial art, making the dance piece an innovative one.

On the concluding day, danseuse Tanushree Shankar’s The Child and Calcutta-based Ronnie Shambik Ghose-Mitul Sengupta’s White were showcased.

Shankar’s The Child was based on Rabindranath Tagore’s English poem with a similar name. Tanushree used various light-settings and an interesting mix of music to express her thoughts in the dance. The artistes showed synchronised movements and postures.

The final performance concluded with Ronnie Shambik Ghose-Mitul Sengupta’s charming White. The dance drama, which was a beautiful fusion of kathak and western dance forms such as Limone, Graham and Cunningham, lyrical flamenco and tap dance, was the perfect icing on the cake. The dreamy dance portrayed the essence of white — that can be interpreted as purity, enigma as well as hidden mysteries and treasure. This abstract dance had a unique aesthetic appeal that was appreciated by one and all present in the auditorium.