Bhubaneswar, Dec. 4: The magic of Jayadev's Gita Govinda was recreated on stage through a Bharatnatyam recital by danseuse A. Lakshmanaswami and his troupe from Nrithyalakshana, Chennai at the ongoing Konark festival.
Bho Shambho, a dance recital in praise of Lord Shiv, composed by Dayananda Saraswati was also staged.
The concluding item was 'Thillana', a joyful culmination of rhythmic footwork and poses inspired by the postures from the Konark temple.
Odissi danseuse Jyotsna Sahoo in their dance drama 'Sriranga Charana' presented the glories of Lord Vishnu in his different incarnations in different age.
The choreography was presented artistically justifying how the divine feet liberated from the worldly bondage.
"I have seen Gita Govinda being staged by Odissi dancers a number of time, but it was great to see the classic work being performed in another classical dance form. The performance were very coordinated and elegant at the same time," said Ananya Mohapatra, research scholar in dance. A number of foreign tourists also attended the event.
With the Sun Temple in the backdrop, the Konark festival began on December 1 in the open-air auditorium of the heritage monument.
Odissi veteran Madhavi Mudgal from Delhi performed with her troupe on the inaugural evening. Her performance was followed by Kishore Musolkanti and troupe from Chennai who engaged audience in Kuchipudi steps.
The second evening of the festival witnessed dance recitals in Mohiniattam and abhinaya in Odissi style. Danseuse of Mohiniattam, Nina Prasad and group presented 'Margam' that was a blend of tradition and modernity. Artistes of Gunjan Dance Academy staged 'Konark Pratima', a recital carefully crafted to replicate the sculptures found in the famous Sun Temple. The item was choreographed by Meera Das.
Kathak by Asim Bandhu and troupe from Calcutta was the major attraction at the festival today.
The festival will conclude tomorrow with Manipuri dance recitals by Priti Patel and group from Calcutta and Odissi presentations by Pitambar Biswal from Bhubaneswar.
Also, the international sand art festival on the Chandrabhaga beach is being hosted simultaneously with the dance festival. With popular sand sculptor Sudarshan Patnaik as the brand ambassador, each day of the event is being hosted on a particular theme.
It began with the theme Make in Odisha and was followed by spirit of Odisha, climate change and save the sea. It will conclude tomorrow where artists will create sand sculptures on the theme of universal access to all.
This year, five international participants from the US, UK, Singapore, the Netherlands and Russia are taking part. Besides, there are 62 sand artists from across the country.
The fest, hosted by the state tourism department and the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, aims to provide a platform to artistes from across the country to showcase various classical dance forms along with promoting sand art.
