Bhubaneswar: A classical extravagance, the fifth edition of two-day-long Lasya Labanya Dance Festival 2023, organised by Biswanath Sangeetalaya, a Cuttack-based cultural institution, at Utkal Rangamanch, on the campus of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, concluded on November 16.
On the inaugural evening, after the customary lighting the lamp ceremony attended by guests like chairman of the Cuttack Development Authority, Anil Kumar Samal; eminent Odissi dancer Guru Durga Charan Ranbir, noted Odissi dancer Guru Smt Sangeeta Dash, renowned Mardala player Guru Dhaneswar Swain, president of Biswanath Sangeetalaya, Prafulla Kumar Ray; secretary of Biswanath Sangeetalaya, Guru Smt Dipti Routray and chief advisor Umashankar Pattnaik, there was the felicitation ceremony.
Padma Shri recipient Odissi exponent Guru Aruna Mohanty, who is the president of the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, was felicitated with the Lasya Labanya Lifetime Achievement Award 2023.
The cultural evening of the inaugural evening started with the host institution’s new choreography ‘Bande Tripura Sundari’, an abhinaya, presented by 13 talented students of Biswanath Sangeetalaya.
The dancers beautifully depicted how Goddess Tripura Sundari came into being and how she killed Bhandasura. Their excellent space management and synchronisation left the audience spellbound. The item was choreographed by Guru Dipti Routray, music composed by Pradeep Kumar Ray, rhythm composed by Guru Dhaneswar Swain and script by Pandit Nityananda Mishra.
The dancers participated were Aparupa Pattanayak, Akanksha Routray, Diksha Routray, Smita Moharana, Ananya Choudhary, Sheetal Swain, Jayanandini Pati, Priyadarshini Panigrahi, Pallavi Prashputita, Subhashini Mallick, Manoj Pradhan, Rakesh Dash and Maharaja Bhoi.
The second half of the evening witnessed four scintillating Kathak items, presented by noted Kathak exponent Smt Uma Dogra and her three disciples (Diksha Rawat, Kartika Unnikrishnan and Sarita Kalele) from Mumbai.
Their first item was a pure dance, presented by Guru Smt Uma Dogra’s disciples, based on Raag Hamsadhwani and Taal Ashtamangal(11 beats), choreographed by Guru Smt Uma Dogra and music composed by Manoj Desai.
The dancers’ pleasant body movements and gentle movement of hands and feet, all in synchrony and, last but not the least, their perfect chakkar or the pirouettes made the presentation enjoyable.
The following item was a pleasant surprise in the form of Guru Smt Uma Dogra. The senior-most disciple of Late Pt. Durga Lal, she presented an Ashtapadi ‘Sakhi he’. The item, based on Raag Mishra Raag and Taal Teen taal, was choreographed by Guru Smt Uma Dogra and music composed by Vinayak Netke.
Before commencing her performance, she asked the audience to accept her if they would find her sitting and standing up not syncing with the movements because of advancing age. However, this reviewer didn’t find anything to complain. She performed with brilliant grace. Her facial expressions were excellent.
The following item was Tarana, presented by her disciples. It is a composition of her Guru late Pt Durga Lal.
The concluding item of the evening was ‘Manthara’, presented by Guru Smt Uma Dogra. While the dialogues were written by her, she also conceptualised and choreographed it. She was excellent in portraying the character of Manthara of the Ramayan. The ease with which she was shifting from one character to another was beautiful. At the end, the audience gave her and her disciples a standing ovation.
Devi Prasad Mishra’s light design needs special mention. The emcee of the evening was Dr Srinivas Ghatuary.
On the second and concluding evening, after the auspicious lighting the lamp ceremony, renowned Sitar artist Guru K Ramarao Patra was felicitated with Guru Prafulla Ray Samman .
The first presentation of the evening was a solo Odissi dance recital by Rajashree Praharaj. She presented ‘Ardhanareeswara’, choreographed by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and music composed by Pt Raghunath Panigrahi, set to Raga Raga malika ,Tala tala malika. Her lyrical body movements and excellent facial expressions mesmerised the audience.
The following item was a duet performance by Sourav Mohanty and Rohini Samal, both are disciples of Guru Durga Charan Ranbir, who performed ‘Sibashtaka’, set to Raga Bhairavi and tala Ekatali. They cast a magical spell on the audience with their neat presentation.
Guru Pankaj Pradhan and Anusaya Pradhan performed a duet ‘Dekho Sakhigo’. Here too, the dancer couple left the audience hooked to their seats with their brilliant performance.
The last item of the concluding evening was a group presentation ‘Sadaripu’, by the students of Nrutya Naibedya, an institution founded by Prabhat Kumar Swain. While the item was choreographed by Prabhat Kumar Swain, it’s music composed by Matru Prasad, rythyam composition by Guru Dhaneswar Swain. The rigorous training they underwent was visible on the stage.
The guests who attended the evening were retired IAS Prasanna Jena, eminent Odissi dancer Guru Snehaprava Samantaray, Pandit Nityanda Mishra, president of Biswanath Sangeetalay Guru Prafulla Ray, secretary of the institution Guru Dr Dipti Routray and chief advisor Umashankar Pattnaik.
Dr Mrutyunjay Rath was the anchor of the evening.
