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Konark dance festival begins

KONARK: With the world famous Sun temple of Konark serving as the perfect backdrop, the annual Konark festival of Indian classical dances kicked off at the specially designed amphitheatre here on Thursday. Into its 19th edition, this major dance festival of the nation is being mounted by the Department of Tourism of the State Government.

Agriculture Minister Surendranath Nayak declared the festival open while Commissioner of Tourism Parag Gupta, the Orissa Tourism development Corporation chairperson Debasis Samantaray and Tourism Director Rabi Narayan Nanda were present.

The five-day festival that showcases six styles of Indian classical dances aptly commenced with an ode to the Sun God in Odissi style – Surya Mangalacharan – presented by Art Vision troupe of Bhubaneswar led by Italian dancer Ileana Citaristi who made Orissa her home 27 years ago for her love for Odissi.

The troupe’s concluding presentation – Mahanadi – a dance ballet choreographed by Ileana as a tribute to Orissa’s longest river – was the highpoint of her recital.

Jawarharlal Nehru Manipuri Dance Academy of Imphal, the best known Manipuri dance institution of the nation, disappointed the audience in the second and concluding segment of the evening.

Barely ten minutes into their hour-long show, had more than half of the viewers left the auditorium apparently disappointed with the presentation of dance drama Sraddhanjali that was a tribute to Gandhiji.

“We expected to see the traditional Manipuri dance with their enchanting costumes and dance movements,” reacted most of the members in the audience.

Versatile anchor Professor Frederic Wright added a Midas touch to the inaugural evening with her warm welcome to the visitors from abroad and in introducing the dance numbers in his peerless voice.

While Odissi would be a daily feature, Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Mohiniattam and Kuchipudi would be performed during the festival.

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