Dancers perform at Rabindra Mandap. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 14: Acrobatic dance steps and entertaining themes were highlights of the Sangam Dance Festival, held at Rabindra Mandap on Thursday evening.

Artistes from Bhubanes-war and Bangalore performed at the concert that entered its ninth edition this year.

The founder of host institute, Art Vision, Illeana Citaristi, and her troupe opened the show, while Bangalore-based Samanvay troupe concluded the programme.

Illeana, alongwith her leading disciple Saswat Joshi, presented Gaia – Mother Earth that was a convergence of Odissi and Chhau.

Though it has been long since we have seen a traditional Odissi abhinaya or pallavi from the veteran danseuse in the style of her revered Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, her passion for Chhau, the warrior dance form in the Mayurbhanj style, was displayed vividly in the interesting act.

Samanvay dance troupe’s Kuchipudi act was striking in many ways.

Despite an initial technical glitch with the audio, the artistes showed great courage to give a smooth performance.

Enacting the mythological tale of Lord Shiv torn between his two beloved consorts — Gauri and Ganga — the artistes displayed great agility in their acrobatic movements as well the rhythmic jugalbandis. The dance drama also had a touch of humour, which made it more appealing to the viewers.