Bhubaneswar, March 29: One of the most striking folk dances in the state — Mayurbhanj Chhau — was seen in ballet form yesterday evening.

Artistes of dance troupe Aangika from Baripada performed Sarala Das’s Odia version of the Mahabharat at Utkal Mandap. The event was sponsored by the Union ministry of culture.

Better known as Dandi Mahabharat, the Sarala Das’s version of the epic began with the Bharada episode. A group of dancers presented striking martial art steps and formations on stage while a pair of dancers dressed as jackals discussed the forthcoming war when they would feast on dead soldiers.

Then came the portrayal of the bond between Shakuni and Duryodhan, followed by the most interesting part of the ballet — the dice game. Selecting the most significant episodes that led to the war of Mahabharat, choreographer and Chhau exponent Sadashiv Pradhan told the tale using a few elements from other dance forms as well.

The audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy the entertaining Mayurbhanj Chhau ballet.

Pradhan and his students performed emotional scenes such as Bhisma’s bed of arrows episode and Abhimanyu’s death with aplomb. The action-packed portrayal of war had the audience lapping it up.

“We used the Mayurbhanj Chhau style to depict Sarala Das’s Mahabharat since this is a martial dance form and is well suited to this great epic of battles, bloodshed and valour,” said Pradhan.

“We used the Jhumar style of music along with other folk music as the background score to dramatise the presentation,” he said.

The music was composed by Sukanta Kumar Kundu and Dhaneswar Swain. Srinivas Satpathy played the flute. Lingaraj Swain and Trilochan Mohanta assisted in the choreography.

Veteran Odissi dancers Minati Mishra, Illeana Citaristi and musician Shantanu Mohapatra were present at the concert.

“Using martial elements to depict the battle of Mahabharat is an interesting concept. The artistes performed well,” said Citaristi.