Odissi - An Indian Classical Dance form

Hello people, just wanted to share with you a couple of pictures I clicked at an Indian Classical Dance performance. India is home to many classical dance forms that are hundreds & thousands of years old.

This particular form of dance is called Odissi. It got its name from the place of its origin - Odisha, which is a state on the eastern coast of India.

It is one of the many major Indian classical dance forms and is primarily performed by women. The dance is a form of a devotional dance, which was performed by Hindu devotees, depicting various religious stories, mainly belonging to Hindu mythology.

As per wikipedia "The basic unit of Odissi are called bhangas. These are made up of eight belis, or body positions and movements, combined in many varieties.[41] Motion is uthas (rising or up), baithas (sitting or down) or sthankas (standing).[41] The gaits or movement on the dance floor is called chaalis, with movement tempo linked to emotions according to the classical Sanskrit texts. Thus, for example, burhas or quick pace suggest excitement, while a slow confused pace suggests dejection. For aesthetics, movement is centered on a core, a point in space or floor, and each dancer has her imaginary square of space, with spins and expression held within it.[41] The foot movement or pada bhedas too have basic dance units, and Odissi has six of these, in contrast to four found in most classical Indian dances."

In this performance, the dancers were depicting the story of the Holy River Ganges descending to earth from heaven. !

This picture here shows a group of Odissi dancers forming the shape of a Lotus flower.

Graceful movements of eyes and neck are an integral part of this dance.

Note the elaborate, colorful make up by the dancers!

I hope you liked my pictures and my pictures did a justice to this beautiful dance form.