Konark Festival concludes with Odissi and Kathak Dance

Bhubaneswar, Dec 7: The five day long Annual Konark Festival of classical dance performed by celebrity dancers of the Country came to an end in a grand way with the scintillating performance in Odissi and Kathak. The artistes of Orissa Dance Academy led by Guru Aruna  Mohanty had the entry with ‘Gatha Odissi’ delineating the chronological development of Odissi as a dance tradition “Prakruti Purusa”, “Khamaj Pallavi” and “Krishna Saranam” got lively presented marking the evolution of Odissi as a typical classical dance form.

Then Guru Rajashree Shirke from Lasya Akademi Dance Repertory, Mumbai performed ‘Kathak’ to the thundering applause of the enchanted viewers. The dance in Kathak commenced  with ‘Surya Upasana’ , an obeisance to the Sun God followed by ‘Panchmahabhoot’ , the magestic five elements that surround us. The dancers exhibited how the elements eternally constitute the human body. The final item in Kathak style was ‘Anandam Krishna’ a mesmerizing panorama of traditional songs of the Kathak forte.

The evening’s cultural programme started with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp by Minister, Agriculture Pradip Maharathy, Minister Tourism Ashok Chandra Panda, Secretary Tourism Gagan Kumar Dhal, Secretary Labour G. Srinibasn, D.G. Home Guard & Fire Service Binay Kr. Behera, Director Tourism N. B. Jawale, Collector Angul Anil Samal and  Director Vigilance Y. B. Khurania.

The International Sand Art Festival also came to an end and all the participants from around the World were felcitated. the five day long programme was compered by Dr. Mrutyanjaya Rath and Sadhana Srivastav with the assistance of Dr. Sangita Gosain and Dhirendranath Mallick.

International Sand Art Festival 2015 Winner

Female (Group) – 1^st Prize : Sarita Gochhayat, Sujata Pattnaik and Priyadarshini Sahoo

Duo Male: Jitendra Maharana and Sujit Kumar Rana

Solo Male: 

• 3^rd Prize – Badal Tarai and Om Prakash Barik
• 2^nd Prize – Pramod Kumar Patnaik and Bulu Mohanty
• 1^st Prize – Jitendra Kishore Jagadev