Odissi
Odissi is a classical dance from the eastern coastal state of Odisha, once performed in temples such as the Jagannath temple at Puri. Two performer traditions are recorded: the maharis, women temple dancers, and the gotipuas, boys dressed as girls who brought acrobatic elements into the dance.
The style is known for the tribhanga, an S-shaped three-bend posture, for hand gestures and facial expression, and for music with instruments such as the mardala drum and the bansuri flute. It moved from temple ritual to the stage in the 1950s and 1960s, with teachers such as Kelucharan Mohapatra and Pankaj Charan Das shaping its repertoire, and gained recognition as classical in the late 1950s.
Sources
Organisations connected with this dance
Listed as references; being listed is not an endorsement by or of the organisation.