Bhubaneswar: Organised by Odisha Tourism, the three-day dance extravaganza of Mukteswar Dance Festival kicked off here Thursday amid much fanfare.
In the opening act, Pandit A Maheswar Rao & Group presented Shiva Vandana with six Ragas and six stanzas. Directed by Rao, the song was an epic blend of melody and grace.
Following the classical act, a spell bounding solo performance by famous dancer Meera Das enthralled one and all. Her first presentation was Mangalacharan in Shivastuti Puspanjali and later, she performed Pallavi choreographed by Late Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra.
Pallavi was based on Raga Billahari and set on Tal ektali. Her last performance was based on Shabari from Ramayan. The music was composed by Pt Bhubaneswar Mishra.
Interacting with Orissa POST, Das said, “The festival celebrates Odissi dance which is one of the oldest classical dance forms in the country. The emotion is captured so beautifully in the form of the danseuse enacting various mudras in the centuries-old temples of the state.”
Performing before the dance connoisseurs is definitely a golden opportunity for me after the pandemic and I personally believe each artiste over here is breathing after lockdown. It’s such a delight to perform over here.”
The third act of the evening was a Odissi duet by Reebdhita Barua and Preetisha Mohapatra. They performed recitals based on Shiva sthuthi, Pallavi Yuma Dwanda and abhinay based on Shri Rama sthuthi. The cherography was by Guru Ratikanta Mohaptra. The music was composed by Late Pt. Raghunath Panigrahi and Pradip Kumar Das.
PNN