Bhubaneswar, July 23: Dancers from across the country rendered graceful performances at the four-day India International Dance Festival, which aimed to bring together tribal, folk, classical, martial and contemporary dance styles on a common platform.

The event that concluded today had recitals on Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri, Mohiniattam and Sattriya.

About 200 dancers took part in the festival organised by Samskritiki, a 27-year-old cultural society of Odisha that has been hosting the Odissi International Dance Festival in Bhubaneswar.

Dancers from Guru Pankaj Udra Sanskruti Academy of Bhubaneswar came up with a group performance directed by dancer Pallavi Das from Odisha.

The dancers showcased intrinsic characteristics of Odissi, including movements of eyes, neck and torso, with the concurrent ascent and descent of the tempo.

"For me, Odissi is not only a way to describe my emotions, but it motivates me for its substantive content. I am happy that the event has provided a stage to the dancers to come together and share their thoughts about their art forms," Pallavi said.

The audience included many foreigners apart from local residents.

"The enthusiasm in the dancers bears testimony to the interest in dance beyond the borders," said Debashree Dhal, a member from the audience.

Budding dancers from Bengal, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and Delhi also took part in the festival.

The event also had a number of performances by stalwarts as well.

This apart, the festival had seminars, screening of films and documentaries on dance, exhibition of books, journals, brochures, DVDs and photographs on dance besides visit to cultural institutions such the Odisha State Museum, Tribal Museum, Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre, temples and heritage sites in and around Bhubaneswar, Konark and Puri.

A talent search programme was also conducted for dancers under the age of 20.

"We tried to bring all aspects of various dance forms and are glad that the audience loved it. All the artistes practiced for months for the festival," said festival director Shyamhari Chakra.