Dancer Sujata Mohapatra performs during the Odissi International event. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 23: Stars and stalwarts from the world of Odissi dance, along with a little dancer, left viewers spellbound on the concluding evening of the fourth Odissi International at Bhanja Kala Mandap on Sunday.

Young dancers and veteran gurus kept the connoisseurs enchanted with a series of beautiful performances throughout the five-day festival.

Male dancers such as Pravat Kumar Swain of the city’s Odisha Dance Academy and a disciple of Aruna Mohanty, Anshuman Mishra of Srjan, groomed under the legendary Kelucharan Mohapatra, Natalie Raut from the UK, Moria Chappel from USA, Irina Komissarova from Russia and many more promising artistes from various parts of the globe earned applause from the viewers.

The last session of the festival saw a kaleidoscope of recitals by the most famous Odissi dancers.

Guru Aruna Mohanty did what she is best at — an abhinaya on a novel theme. She chose to depict the formlessness of divinity in her act that was based on texts from the Upanishads and had elements of mahima dharma, a theist sect that believes in the philosophy of spirituality. The dancer was emphatic on stage and won the audience’s admiration for the fluidity of her expressions.

Known for her meticulousness when it comes to intricate details of movements, Sujata Mohapatra, the ace disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra was a delight to watch on stage. She gave a stunning recital of Jugmadwanda Pallavi that was choreographed by her guru, composed by the late Ragunath Panigrahi and first performed by exponent Sanjukta Panigrahi.

“Since the festival is dedicated to Raghunath Panigrahi, this is a tribute to him,” she said.

An abhinaya on Kuru yadu nandana, a piece of romantic poetry from Gita Govinda, was the highlight of her repertoire.

Meera Das, the current star of Odissi dancing in Cuttack, gave a scintillating performance portraying the various virtues of Krishna.

Similarly, Rahul Acharya captivated the attention of the viewers with a brilliant depiction of Priye charushile, also from the Gita Govinda. Gayatri Chand’s Shiv vandana on Ganga taranga, a eulogy for Lord Shiv, was also impressive.

In spite of the glitz of big names, four-year-old Shrinika Purohit from Bangalore managed to steal the show. Her fine movements won many hearts. Russian troupe Omkar also gave a striking rendition of the Kirwani Pallavi.

“This is a lovely opportunities for dancers to come together to celebrate Odissi,” said senior Odissi dancer Minati Mishra. The event was hosted by Samskritiki, a local organisation with co-operation of dancers from all over the globe.