File photos of Odissi dancers at the backdrop of the Sun Temple and Kathak performance in the open theatre at the Konark Dance Festival. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 29: The Sun Temple of Konark is set to come alive with the rhythm of ghungroos of dancers from all over India.

They would perform against the backdrop of the World Heritage Monument with the 21st Konark Festival starting from December 1.

The artistes would replicate poses of the sculptures on the walls of the 700-year-old temple in various mudras of dance.

The five-day festival will be a celebration of different classical dance forms of India.

More than two decades old, the Konark festival is one of the most famous dance events. It will be held in an open-air auditorium.

The festival will begin with a tribute to the protagonist of dance festivals in the state, Guru Gangadhar Pradhan, who died recently.

The festival was the brainchild of Guru Pradhan and this year his disciples from his institute, Konark Natya Mandap, will perform to honour him.

They will be performing on a Shiva panchaka.

Following this event will be a colourful dance recital on Konark Lasya Leela by Guru Pradhan’s disciple Aruna Mohanty and her students from the Orissa Dance Academy.

“The entire festival this year is dedicated to Late Padmashri Guru Gangadhar Pradhan,” said Ashok Tripathy, secretary, Orissa Tourism.

“Apart from Odissi, that will be performed by artistes of various academies and institutes every day at the festival, there will also be recitals of Bharatnatyam, Mohiniattam, Kuchipudi, Manipuri and Kathak,” added Tripathy.

This year’s highlight will be the performance by leading exponent of Kathak, Pandit Birju Maharaj. The Kathak guru, who hails from the Maharaj family of Kathak dancers of Lucknow, will perform with his troupe including his disciple Saswati Sen on an exclusive choreography — ‘the journey of Kathak’.

The recital will showcase the journey of the dance form from the temple premises to a classical dance style.

The host town has already been decorated with wall paintings, vibrant light arrangements and an exquisite stage to welcome visitors from all over the world.

“Konark festival is extremely popular throughout the world. Foreign tourists, who throng the country during winter, are expected to arrive in large numbers to attend the dance festival,” said Tripathy.

The participants of the dance festival include Prof. C. V. Chandrasekhar (Bharatnatyam), Gopika Verma (Mohiniattam), Tridhara troupe of Guru Gajendra Panda (Odissi), artistes of Nupur of Guru Niranjan Rout (Odissi), Sailasuidha Academy (Kuchipudi), Bimbavati Devi (Manipuri), Diksha Manjari troupe of Dona Ganguly (Odissi), artistes of the Odissi Research Centre (Odissi).

The festival will conclude on December 5.