Bhubaneswar, Feb. 2: The Dhauli Peace Pagoda will shine as the backdrop for classical and martial dance forms during the Kalinga Mahotsav from February 6 to 8.

The mahotsav has been hosted in the Dhauli foothills since 2003. City-based dance school Art Vision's martial dance festival merged with Kalinga Mahotsav in 2012.

"The mahotsav propagates the culmination of cultures reflected in dance forms and hails the synthesis of religions and faiths," said dancer Aruna Mohanty, who heads the Odisha Dance Academy.

This year, the festival will stage Bharatnatyam by the Punyah Dance Company from Bangalore, Odissi by Bhubaneswar-based troupe Nupur and Calcutta-based Shinjan Nrityalaya, kathak by the Sonarpur Nadam from Calcutta and the Abhinab Dance Company, Bangalore. Artistes will come together to stage a composition Saptavarna - the seven shades of dance and music, where Priti Patel will present Manipuri, Aruna Mohanty will perform Odissi, Parshwanath Upadhye will stage Bharatnatyam, Sandip Mallick will perform Kathak, Mom Ganguly will display Mohiniyattam and Imocha Singh will present Thang ta (martial art of Manipur), along with music ensembles by Ramahari Das and Dhaneswar Swain.

In the martial dance segment, there will be performances by New Delhi-based Anveshana Society for Performing Arts. The Sarabhuja Dance Theatre will stage Bengal's martial dance Raibanshe and Sambhu Dutta Swain of Khurda will present Odisha's Paika dance with his group.