An Odissi dance performance by Rina Jana & Group is being organised by the Indian embassy at Al Majlis Hall, Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel, at 6.45pm today, while another performance will take place tomorrow at the Qatar International Food Festival at Oxygen Park (Education City) as part of the Qatar-India 2019 Year of Culture.
Odissi is an ancient Indian classical dance form that originated in Odisha, a state in Eastern India.
It is traditionally a part of the dance-drama genre of performing arts. One of the most characteristic features of Odissi dance is the Tribhangi, where the body is bent in three parts like neck, torso and the knee and is considered one of the most graceful positions. The performances are composed and choreographed by Guru Rina Jana, who is a veteran artiste and one of the frontline exponents of Odissi. She was trained under the tutelage of Padma Vibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra and Padma Shri Sanjukta Panigrahi.
“In all the items, the music is sweet and melodious, pure and classical,” the embassy has said in a statement. The troupe consists of five dancers and six musicians and the performance consists of six items: an invocation called ‘Mangalacharana’, primarily expressing gratitude; ‘Dashavatar’, a celebration of the triumph of good over evil; ‘Basanta Pallavi’ welcomes spring, a pleasing season with its blossoms, fragrance-filled breeze and colourfulness dear to all; ‘Abhinaya I & II’ encompasses expressional dance to communicate a story or enacting a song that speaks about love; and ‘Moksha’, the concluding item, wherein the performers depict its importance, which literally means salvation or emancipation.
The embassy has invited all friends and well-wishers to join for an evening of Odissi dance.
