Background

Located on the eastern coast of India, Orissa is the home of the highly sensuous and lyrical dance form known as Odissi. Like Bharata Natyam, it was originally intended to be performed in temples by Maharis or devadasis.

The nritta encompasses batu nritya, pallavi and mokshya. In batu nritya the dancer strikes poses holding various instruments like the veena (lute), flute, cymbals and drums; its choreography is highly imaginative. Pallavi means to elaborate, and a dancer performs pure dance to a chosen time cycle and a musical raga (melody). Various body postures similar to temple sculptures are woven in this number. In mokshya, before the dance concludes, a dancer employs various dance units creating arresting visuals. In nritya, the songs are culled mainly from the verses of the Gita Govinda.

Several treatises on Odissi written between the 16th and 19th centuries reveal that three classes of dancers pursued this style of dance in that era. The dances of Maharis in the temples were basically ritualistic. The Nartakis performed mainly in the royal courts.

Around the 16thcentury, there took place an event of immense significance for the evolution of Odissi dance. This was the establishment of the Gotipua system in which adolescent and pre-puberty boys were trained in the art of dancing and singing. Gotipuas were not only good singers but also skilled in abhinaya or interpretation of lyrics with appropriate gestures. The boys dressed as girls would perform for the general public. This system was established during the reign of king Prataparudra and the Gotipua troupes travelled all over Orissa popularising the dance form.

Costumes and ornaments

For an Odissi dance recital the dancer wears a saree with the typical patola designs and motifs, characteristic of Orissa. The style of draping the saree is identical with that of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi.However the jewellery that the dancer wears is all in silver including an ornate broad silver belt around her waist.The dancers also wear an intricate head piece, delicately made out of the pith (soft spongelike central cylinder of the stems of flowering plants) of the shola plant which grows profusely in marshy areas) representing flowers around the hair, and a piece protruding upward, representing the top of a temple. Originally the head piece used to be made out of real flowers, but for practical reasons, it has been replaced with the shola. There are several pieces of jewellery that a dancer must wear: a choker, a longer necklace, armlets, bracelets, a belt, anklets, bells, earrings, a piece placed on the hair fashioned into a bun, and a seenthi (an ornament placed on the parting of the hair, leading down to the forehead).

The make-up for Odissi is similar to that of the other classical dance styles. Thick layers of kajal (kohl), is applied to the eyes to make them appear longer. The dancer applies red lipstick and blush. Other makeup is used for greater definition of the facial features. A bindi (red spot or dot, symbolizing marriage) surrounded by a white circle made with chandan (sandalwood paste), is placed on the forehead in between the eyebrows and below the parting of the hair.