Young boys perform Gotipua at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 29: Young boys have shown grace and varied emotions during their performances at the inaugural evening of the two-day Gotipua Utsav at Rabindra Mandap.

Three troupes performed yesterday and left the viewers spellbound.

The opening act was by the host institute, Aradhana Dance Academy, where kids between the age of six and 14 gave an impressive display of the traditional art form, which originated in Puri and the villages around it.

A well-choreographed piece on the famous song Dekho go Radha Madhaba chali was performed first. Confident movements, coupled with articulate expressions won the hearts of the audience, who burst into applause at the end of it. Their next item was Saja kanja nayana kunji followed by Kari gamana ture, both of which were also expressional dance with abundant “abhinaya” or enactment.

Their final item was a “bandha nrutya”, which is a form of dance to show intimacy between the “gopis” and Krishna, but has evolved over the years as a more challenging genre of Gotipua where the artistes stand one atop another to create various formations on the stage. The young performers impressed the audience with their stunts.

Though the next troupe started on a dull note with weary moves, they geared up with their next item. The first sequence by them was Jhulao go, but their “bandha nrutya” was outstanding. The team was Maa Jagulai Annapurna Gotipua Nrutya Parishad from Puri. The choreography of the entire repertoire by Guru Sidheswar Muduli, however, was authentically traditional.

Nakshatra Gurukul from Bhubaneswar presented the concluding performance of the evening. Guru Bijay Kumar Sahu’s disciples gave the performance in the traditional order starting with a Mangalacharana, Pallavi and ended with Sukumari.

“Their body flexibility is unbelievable! I loved to see the ‘bandha nrutya’,” said Uttam Parida, a viewer. Danseuse Aruna Mohanty, guru Naba Kishore Mishra and others were among the audience.