Bhubaneswar: Odissi dancers from various parts of the world displayed their talents at the International Odissi Dance Festival that concluded at the Rabindra Mandap on Saturday.

The five-day festival, which is hosted by the state culture and tourism departments, is being organised by the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre.

The festival was started in 2006 by the Odissi Research Centre to help dancers, trained under different gurus and from different parts of the globe, to interact, improvise and learn from each other.

"The foremost objective of the festival is to bring Odissi dancers from across the country and abroad on to a single platform. The performances of the participating dancers are assessed from perspectives such as style, technique, costume, music, movements and mudras of Odissi," said the chief executive officer of the centre, Sangita Gosain.

As many as 250 dancers along with 200 musicians performed at the five-day festival. It had two sessions every day, the first from 4pm to 6 pm and the second from 6.30 pm onwards. The festival, this year, featured more than 100 solo dancers, 15 duets and 15 troupes.

Arnaaz Zaman from New Delhi stole hearts of dance enthusiasts with her graceful movements and intricate footwork. "I am glad to be a part of this amazing festival. It was an enriching experience to watch dancers from various regions," she said.

US-based Odissi danseuse Aparupa Chatterji and her group presented Vandematram, an invocation to the motherland, which was also appreciated by the audience.

Odissi dancer Saswat Joshi presented a traditional performance based on the song Dinabandhu Hey depicting the story of a devotee of Lord Jagannath.

"It was an occasion to meet Odissi dancers from far-off places," Saswat said.