Bhubaneswar, April 15: Malaysian Odissi dancer Ramli Ibrahim is ready with his latest production - Ganjam - dedicated to the contribution of the district towards the dance form.
Ramli and his artistes from Sutra Dance Theatre performed at New Delhi this week and they will present that dance ballet in Bhubaneswar, Rourkela and Berhampur.
Composed by veteran dancer Gajendra Panda, Ganjam reflects all five aspects of Odissi dance - Mangalacharana, Sthayee, Pallavi, Abhinaya and Mokshya - which are different genres of the dance form. In each part, the production reflects how Ganjam's traditions, various folk arts and culture has influenced Odissi.
"We worked on the production when Ramli was here last year. We drew inspiration from how viewers recognise the contribution of Gotipua and Debadasi dance forms in Odissi but not the Sakhi form of Ganjam which has lent it its expressional gestures," said Panda.
He said most musicians who played for dance compositions of the foremost Odissi gurus such as Pankaj Charan Das, Kelucharan Mohapatra and Deba Prasad Das - Panda and Ramli's guru - were from Ganjam. Even the poetry of Baladeba Rath and Upendra Bhanja, who hailed from this region, were used in most Odissi sequences.
Gopal Chandra Panda has composed the music for Ganjam while noted percussionist Banamali Maharana designed the rhythm. Ramli himself conducted the artistic direction while Dinanath Pathy was the literary and visual consultant for the production.
The production's two shows earlier this week in New Delhi received rave response. In Odisha, the production will be showcased in Bhubaneswar at KIIT University on April 16 and Rabindra Mandap on April 17. Sutra Dance Theatre will also perform at Bhanja Mandap in Rourkela on April 19 and Berhampur Town Hall in Berhampur on April 21.
"We had presented the production in September last year in Malaysia and the viewers loved it. After this India tour, we will host the second season of Ganjam in Malaysia," Ramli said. "I remember visiting Ganjam, especially Berhampur and its neighbouring villages when I had come to Odisha in the late 1970s to learn dance. Things have changed a lot but I have wonderful memories of Ganjam," he said.
