Rourkela, Dec. 14: The fifth edition of Rudradhara Dance Festival, hosted by Debanrutyam Academy, concluded yesterday to a thunderous applause at the Civic Centre.
A large number of local residents had come to see the event.
Hosted by dancer Debasish Pattnaik, this year's festival witnessed splendid displays of the art form by the performing artistes.
Japan-born Odissi danseuse Aiko Sinohara was the main attraction of the inaugural evening. Sinohara left the entire audience spellbound as she performed all the nuances of Odissi with the grace of a maestro. She began with Krushna Mangalacharana and then Arabi Pallabi. She runs an Odissi dance school in Japan and shuttles between the state and her country. She shared her experience in broken Odia with the audience and they responded with a deafening applause.
Mumbai-based Bharatnatyam exponent Kirtina Rabi, a student of Guru Rama Vaidyanathan and Calcutta artiste Debajani Basu's Kathak performances followed Sinohara. Deepa Sridhran and Rekha Satish performed a Kuchpudi duet with Ganesh Stuti and Bande Vasudevam. The icing on the festival's cake, however, was Pattnaik's duet with one of his disciples.
Sinohara and Pattnaik took to the stage on the second evening as well, mesmerising the audience once more.
"This was a perfect mix of oriental and Indian performances," said C.S. Satpathy, who was among the audience.
Tanya Saxena, a Bharatnatyam-artist from Delhi and a student of noted exponent Saroja Vaidyanathan followed the duo with an enthralling performance.
Finally, there were performances by Asani Tripathy and Gulmini Pradhan of Debanrityam and Kathak by Soma Ghosh and troupe from Calcutta. Also there was a performance by Debanrutyam's budding artists led by Pattnaik. The youngsters revelled on stage, performing in front of a huge audience.
"I am gradually losing my stage fright," said one of the youngsters.
Rourkela MLA Dilip Ray, who inaugurated the programme, praised Debanrutyam's and said: "For the culture-savvy Rourkela audience, such festivals are always an avenue to enjoy different art forms."
Tourist officer Jayashri Mopahatra, who was the chief guest on the second day, said: "Such festivals will help to promote tourism in the district."
