Bhubaneswar: The 10-member team of Odissi dancers from the US, who are in the city to discover the stories behind the dance form, realised their dream on Saturday.

They discovered the earliest depiction of the dance form in stone - in full costume with musicians and other accompanying artistes - at the Udayagiri caves during the Monks, Caves and Kings heritage walk.

The dancers, nine from the US and one from the UK, are led by Revital Carroll, a dancer who counts Kelucharan Mohapatra, Bichitrananda Swain and Sujata Mohapatra among her mentors. Carroll has her own Odissi dancing school, Shakti Bhakti, in California and inspire people to learn the classical dance form. "We will stay about three weeks in Odisha to learn about Odissi, including how the saris are made in west Odisha with the tie-and-dye technique. We will also visit craftsmen who manufacture the crown or tahia used by dancers during performances,'' said Carroll.

Rumy Narayanan, who is learning Odissi from Carroll, said: "I am enjoying the place so much. Bhubaneswar is beautiful, it's where the ancient temple art is showcased amid modernity.''

Rumy, daughter of an Indian-American father and American mother, is happy that she got the opportunity to visit the land from where the classical dance form originated. "I am delighted that we are experiencing the historical genesis of the dance,'' she said.

Guide Satya Swarup Mishra said: "We do not know, which one came first, the monks or the caves or the kings, but at Udayagiri there are ancient caves with art by pre-historic men proving that the caves might have existed much before Jainism or Emperor Kharavela. However, while there were more than 100 caves in ancient times, less than 40 exist as many could have been demolished during procurement of stones for temple building.''

Ten students from Xavier Institute of Managemnt, Bhubaneswar, also took part in the walk, learning about the rock-cut caves and also seeing the deep water body atop Udayagiri.