(Top) Saswati Garai, Biswajit Das and Rajashree prahraj perform at the Udayaraga dance festival and Saswati in a solo performance. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, March 28: Promising young Odissi dancers put on an impressive show at the two-day Udayaraga festival of solo Odissi performances. Held at Jayadev Bhavan on March 26 and 27, the event was a celebration of the spirit of youth in Odissi dance.

Shivani Patnaik from the USA, Pravat Kumar Swain from Bhubaneswar and Supriya Nayak from New Delhi presented recitals that left the audience asking for more on the first day.

Starting with a Sthayee dance item, Patnaik first presented a sequence on Konark Kantee, a concept of guru Gangadhar Pradhan that was choreographed by Aruna Mohanty, Manoranjan Pradhan and Bijaya Kumar Dash.

Based on the statues in Konark Sun Temple, the recital was a celebration of the historic monument. Patnaik charmed viewers with her postures and graceful movements. She then performed an abhinaya on an ashtapadi (poetic hymn) from the Geeta Govinda. With her expressions speaking volumes of the misery in lovelorn Radha’s heart, Patnaik beautifully performed the sequence based on an episode from Radha-Krishna’s saga of love.

Talented Odissi dancer Pravat Kumar Swain captivated viewers with his performance on a unique composition ‘Arjuna- teen adhyaya’. Depicting three different facets of the mythological warrior Arjun, well-known for his skills in archery, Swain displayed yogic postures, swift movements and a smooth transition of expressions to illustrate Arjun’s victory in Draupadi Swayamvar, his brief phase as an eunuch dance teacher and as Lord Krishna’s follower during the war in the epic Mahabharat.

Supriya Nayak’s captivating abhinaya Baata Chado was a mesmerising experience for viewers.

“These young dancers presented compositions that were very charming. They will help promote Odissi all over the world with their performances,” said Sohail Khan, a viewer.

On the concluding day, Saswati Garai from Calcutta gave a wonderful rendition of Krishna Janma. One of the finest young male dancers today, Biswajit Das, gave a fascinating recital of a Bilahari Pallavi while elegant danseuse Rajashree Prahraj enchanted viewers with her performance on Mahadeva, an invocation of Lord Shiva, choreographed by Ratikant Mohapatra.

“Solo dance recitals have always been a major element of Indian classical dance forms. The young performers have re-established its importance with their vibrant performances,” said Aruna Mohanty, secretary of Orissa Dance Academy, the organisers. A two-day interactive session among dancers was also held at the academy.