Odissa Dance & Music

Odissi dance is the form of classical dance that people have been performing in the Eastern State of Odissa. The Odissi dance of Orissa is one of the six acknowledged classical dance forms of India. Like all other Indian classical dances, it also has its initiation in religion and philosophy with an origin in the temples of Orissa. It is the dance of the Maharis, who are the devadasis. These devadasis used to perform it in front of the Lord Jagannath. However, after Maharis Traditions, there was the emergence and evolution of Gotipua tradition.

Gotipua were the young boys who were trained by the Maharis and these boys then perform the dancing after disguising themselves as girls. These were the boys who took this form of dance to the outside world. With a charming and colorful music encompassing several streams unfurls many vistas of an array of dance forms and musical styles. The figures of musicians carved on ancient temple walls speak of Orissa's rich musical heritage. 

 

Odissi Dance

Another special feature of Odissi music is the padi, which consists of words to be sung in druta tala (fast beat). Odissi music can be sung in different talas namely navatala (nine beats), dashatala(ten beats) or egar tala (eleven beats) as Odissi ragas are different from the ragas of Hindustani and Karnataki music. The chief Odissi ragas are Kalyana, Nata, Shree Gowda, Baradi, Panchama, Dhanashri, Karnata, Bhairavee and Shokabaradi.

The Odissi dance of Orissa is one of the six acknowledged classical dance forms of India. Like all other Indian classical dances, it also has its initiation in religion and philosophy with an origin in the temples of Orissa. The rhythm, Bhangis and Mudras used in Odissi dance have a distinct style of its own. The dance is performed mainly with the theme of Infinite love of Lord Krishna and Radha.

Odissi dance would have got diminished inside the temples but for Ray Ramananda--a dramtist and musician--who introduced it in another form. He taught Odissi to some boys and presented the dance form as Gotipua Nacha. He convinced Chaityna Dev that singing and dancing were also forms of prayer. Thus, Odissi dance form was enriched by the encouragement of various kings and a sweeping Vaishnava cult. Subsequently, Odissi was further refined and became a higher form of dance than Gotipua Nacha.
   

Other folk dances include the Chaitighoda, or the dummy horse dance, a traditional fishermen's dance. The dancer inside the horse frame displays the galloping movements of a horse with two other characters the Rauta and the Rautani singing and dancing along to entertain the audience nightlong.

The girls in Sambalpur area dance and sing Dalkhai to the beats of drums, timkis and nisans, a performance in which at times the lover raises some questions in the form of a song and her beloved reciprocates accordingly. The most ancient of folk dances of Orissa, the Danda Nata is a culture where Lord Shiva and his consort Gori are propitiated. The bhaktas (devotees) do severe penance by walking on a bed of red hot live charcoal, stand on edged swords or pierce their tongues or skin with iron nails. In a rural dance, the Medha Nacha, the performer puts a mask and dances to the rhythms of the enchanting music in a religious procession. Made of paper machie, mask can be human, divine or animal.

Orissa Tribal Dances--The colorful costumes of the tribes with headgear made of animal horns and shells and their dances to the accompaniment of drums, flutes and string instruments leave the audience spell bound. These lively and spontaneous dances still continued to be performed on the occasions of birth, death, naming ceremony, marriages, changing seasons and numerous fairs and festivals. The dancers are mostly performed by groups of men and women and accompanied by a song.
   
Chau is a war dance with firm roots in martial arts tradition of Orissa. Performed by men, its raw power and energetic movements, the interplay of attack and defense.

Kathi Nacha (stick dance), Medha Nacha (mask dance), Naga Nacha (Snake dance), and Puppet Dance known as Kandhei (Sakhi Nacha) that are based on stories from mythology, are some of the prominent folk and tribal dances that are worth the time spent at the show on your tour to Orissa.

Famous Folk Dances of Orissa are :

Chhow Dance - Famous Folk Dances of Orissa Chhow Dance--An ancient dance form, mostly prevalent in areas of Mayurbhanj district, and which originated in the mock fights of the Oriya warriors, is known for its masculine vitality. Chhow of Sareikela (Jharkhand) and Purulia (West Bengal) are slightly different dance forms from that of the Mayurbhanj of Orissa, performed during the Chaita Paraba in open air on a raised platform. This dance includes both tandava and lasya elements represented by Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati respectively. The percussion instruments, like traditional drums and other musical instruments, are generally played. Intricate feet movements, whirls and jumps depict the emotions rather than the facial expressions.

   

Hence the feet, the legs and the waist are used to depict bhavas. It is a thematic dance presenting popular episodes from the epics and Puranas. The Chhow dance begins with ranga vadya--an ensemble of indigenous musical instruments which inspires the dancers, followed by the orchestra taking up the initial tune of the dance in slow steps. In the next stage, 'nata', the thematic contents of the performance and the drama, is built up. The concluding stage is 'nataki' when the vigorous movements of the dancers develop a high tempo. An equally popular, a form of battle or martial dance, Paika exhibits tactics of warfare.