BHUBANESWAR: A dance festival Mantramagna, organised by Hallisaka, captivated visitors at Bhanjakala Mandap here Wednesday.
The evening started with ‘Trahi Durge Bandana’ followed by Odissi performance by Arupa Gayatri Panda. Kevin Bachan performed on ‘Vishweshwara Darshan Ko chalo Mann Kashi’ which is based on Taal Khemta, Raag Asavari. The choreography was done by Guru Ranjana Gauhar.
It was attended by Commissioner cum Secretary in Department of Higher Education Bishnupada Sethi, Vice Chancellor, Ramadevi Women University Padmaja Mishra and Vice Chancellor, Utkal University Soumendra Mohan Patnaik.
Sethi said, “Dance is the finest form of art and it has always enlightened every soul. It’s a treat to watch artistes of Hallisaka perform on stage along with other artistes.” The other performing artistes were Preetipriya and Bindupriya Behera, Santosh Ram and Samir Kumar Panigrahi.
Susmita Patnaik, Vice president, Hallisaka, said, “I congratulate allthe artistes who are performing today as they are the ones who are representing Odia culture.”
The festival and award function provided a grand forum to all the established and emerging artistes to showcase their expertise and excellence on various dance forms.
Padma Vibhusan Pandit Hariprasad Chourasia, Padmashree Prafulla Kar and Padmashree Sudarshan Sahoo were the advisors to the event.
Notably, Hallisaka is a Sanskrit term meaning dance by a group of stars. The institution, Hallisaka, which is created for the preservation and proliferation of traditional dance and music was established in the year 1989. Since then the institution has been engaged in training the aspiring young artistes in the traditional form of Odissi dance and assisting them to further this cultural heritage within and outside the boundaries of Odisha.