(From top) Dancers Aloka Kanungo, Rina Jana, and Sharon Lowen perform Odissi at the Samsmaranam hosted at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, April 9: Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra’s disciples paid a rich tribute of dance to the renowned exponent of Odissi on his 10th death anniversary.

Mohapatra’s disciples from all over the world staged some exquisite solo recitals at the concert Samsmaranam hosted at Rabindra Mandap in the city.

The three-day long ongoing festival showcased some striking compositions by famous dancers on the first two days. Veteran dancer and guru Ramani Ranjan Jena, who was trained in his youth by guru Mohapatra, staged the opening act on Tuesday.

He presented the mangalachran or invocatory piece with the effortlessness on the second evening of the event.

The dancer — who has been awarded by the Sangeet Natak Akademis both in New Delhi and Odisha — reminded every bit of his guru with a blend of subtle yet powerful movements.

Another highlight of the evening was the abhinaya —To lagi gopadanda — presented by Pranati Mohanty, one of the earliest disciples of Mohapatra. Based in Angul, she had quit dancing for 20 years after an accident. But Mohanty’s act was fascinating and captivating as she switched between playing the witty Krishna and also Radha, who gets tired of the Lord’s pranks.

Rajashri Prahraj, who has slowly carved a niche for herself among the best dancers of Srjan, the institute founded by Mohapatra, danced with finesse and elegance. She exuded confidence with every step during the complex rendition of Hamsadhwani pallavi.

Other soloists of the evening were Sharmila Mukherjee, Itishree Dwivedi and Subikas Mukherjee.

The group acts were performed by artistes of Art Vision that included artistes Illeana Citaristi and Saswat Joshi.

Earlier, in the morning session, a musical soiree was presented in memory of the late guru’s skills in the department of music. Mardala player Satchidananda Das joined with violinist Ramesh Chandra Das and vocalist Bijay Kumar Jena to present a series of Odissi musical compositions.

On the inaugural day, which coincided with the death anniversary of the exponent, one of the senior most students of Mohapatra, veteran danseuse Kumkum Mohanty staged the magalacharan.

Acts by noted dancers Aloka Kanungo, Madhavi Mudgal and Rina Jana were mesmerising. The show stealer was US based Odissi dancer Sharon Lowen. She performed the abhinaya — Sakhi he — from Gita Govinda. Not only was the love for Krishna visible in her performance, but one could also feel the ultimate essence of devotion.

“The event is a joint collaboration of Srjan and Art Vision from this year whereas we used to host separate festivals earlier with the same motive of remembering Guruji,” said dancer Ratikant Mohapatra, director Srjan.