Bhubaneswar: The first edition of ‘Kalpana’, a festival of Odissi dance choreography, was held at Jayadev Bhawan in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
The festival was organised by ‘Mokshya’, an Odissi dance institution founded by eminent Odissi dancer Guru Dr Sujata Mishra. The institution also already hosts two annual festivals— ‘Jugalbandi’ and ‘Abhilasha’—and with ‘Kalpana’, it has further raised the bar.
The festival was inaugurated by CSNA awardee Odissi dance Guru Dr Snehaprava Samantaray, CSNA awardee Guru Niranjan Rout, OSNA awardee Guru Brajakishore Mallick and OSNA awardee Guru Muktilata Pal.
The guests heaped praise on Dr Sujata Mishra for her sustained effort to propagate Odissi dance in and outside the state. They noted that the new festival not only enriches the cultural landscape but also gives budding artistes a platform to spread their wings.
The cultural evening featured 12 upcoming dancers-Gayatri Sahu, Chinmayee Tripathy, Bishwabhushan Champatiray, Abhipsha Pati, Subhangini Mishra, Sourav Mohanty, Suchismita Sahu, Dr Sanghamitra Panigrahi, Timirashu Pattanayak, Swarnaprava Panda, Ankita Priyadarshini and Santosh Ram-who captivated the art lovers with their performances, proving that the future of Odissi is in safe hands.
Chandan Kumar Nayak and Rajashree Priyadarshini seamlessly anchored the evening while Dr Sujata Mishra delivered vote of thanks, bringing the curtain down on a memorable cultural evening.
