Odissi
Odissi, the essence of the state of Orissa. Orissa is the
highly inspired, impassioned, ecstatic and sensuous form of dance. Odissi
was performed in the temples of Orissa as a religious rite and offering by
the Devadasis known as 'Maharis'. Odissi is a rich and generous
cultural gift of the land, well known for its dedication to religion and arts
and known in the past as 'Kalinga Desha'. The people of this land raised magnificent
temples, each erected as an act of religious faith and embellished by
the skills of master craftsmen, sculptures and architects. These temples became
the centre of art and culture and it was here that Odissi, one of India's
In Odissi, the technique, the style, its stages, the repertoire
and the finale were almost amorphous. Today Odissi is a well established and
codified classical dance form of India, a dance of love, delight and intense
passion, lyrical, pure, divine and human all rolled into one.
