Bengal Foundation has arranged ‘Understanding Classical Dance’, a monthly series of lecture and demonstration programmes that will be curated and presented by celebrated artist, choreographer and educator, Sharmila Banerjee.

The fourth programme in this series will take place at Daily Star-Bengal Arts Precinct on Wednesday, 18 March at 6:30 pm. The subject of this session will be Odissi Dance.

The performers are Benazir Salam, Jasim Uddin, Sudeshna Swayamprabha, Nabiha Tahsin Ahona, Afia Ibnat Halim, Tasmia Mashiat Raya, Ira Bala, Marsia Shyama Sarker, and Pakhawaj.

Accompanist is renowned tabla and pakhawaj player Swarup Hossain. Benazir Salam will assist Banerjee with dance direction.  

The performers will follow the style of Guru Pankajcharan Das and Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra.

The presentation will include narrations on the roots, evolution and historical development of Odissi dance along with audio visual presentations. Brief glimpses of performances by legendary Odissi dancers will be shown as well.

Odissi Dance
Odissi, also known as Orissi, is one of the eight classical dance forms of India. It originates from the state of Odisha, in eastern India. It is the oldest surviving dance form of India on the basis of archaeological evidences.  The classic treatise of Indian dance, Natya Shastra, refers to it as Odra-Magadhi. 1st century BCE bas-reliefs in the hills of Udaygiri testify to its antiquity. It was suppressed under the British Raj, but has been reconstructed since India gained independence. It is particularly distinguished from other classical Indian dance forms by the importance it places upon the Tribhangi, the independent movement of head, chest and pelvis and upon the basic square stance known as Chauka or Chouka that symbolises Lord Jagannath. This dance is characterised by various Bhangas (Stance), which involves stamping of the foot and striking various postures as seen in Indian sculptures. The common Bhangas are Bhanga, Abanga, tibhanga and Tribhanga.

The Odissi tradition existed in three schools: Mahari, Nartaki, and Gotipua.

Maharis were Oriya devadasis or temple girls, their name deriving from Maha (great) and Nari or Mahri (chosen) particularly those at the temple of Jagganath at Puri. Early Maharis performed mainly Nritta (pure dance) and Abhinaya (interpretation of poetry) based on Mantras and Slokas. Later, Maharis especially performed dance sequences based on the lyrics of Jayadev's Gita Govinda. Bhitari Gauni Maharis were allowed in the inner temple while Bahari Gauni Maharis, though in the temples, were excluded from the sanctum sanctorum.

Nartaki dance took place in the royal courts, where it was much cultivated before the British period. At that time the misuse of devadasis came under strong attack, so that Odissi dance withered in the temples and became unfashionable at court. Only the remnants of the Gotipua school remained, and the reconstruction of the style required an archaeological and anthropological effort that has tended to foster a conservative purism

By the 6th century, the Gotipua tradition was emerging. One of the reasons given for the emergence of Gotipuas is that Vaishnavasdid not approve of dancing by women. Gotipuas were boys dressed up as girls and taught the dance by the Maharis. During this period, Vaishnava poets composed innumerable lyrics in Oriya dedicated to Radha and Krishna. Gotipuas danced to these compositions and gradually stepped out of the precincts of the temples.

Sharmila Banerjee
Renowned classical dancer and choreographer Sharmila Banerjee graduated from the Visva-Bharati University at Shantiniketan with a Bachelor of Music degree in Dance. She received training in the Kathakali and Monipuri dance styles from Shantiniketan. Banerjee was bestowed with the Nartan Visharad title after completing Post-Graduate course in Manipuri dance at the Manipuri Nartanalaya, Kolkata under the renowned Manipuri teacher Guru Bipin Singh and Srimati Kalavati Devi. She is also specialized in Bharata Natyam, Odissi and different forms of folk dance. Sharmila Banerjee is currently head of dance department at Chhayanaut and she runs her own private school of dance Nritya Nandan.