Pirouetting to Odissi
19 Jun 2012 4:11 AM GMT
It was the city’s tryst with classical dance. The capital on Friday witnessed an Odissi recital by dancer Rina Jana, who came all the way from Kolkata.
The programme was organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). Jana is a panel artist with ICCR and Doordarshan.
Jana is a senior disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra and has performed all over the country. She has also bagged awards like Shringermoni Award, Sanjukta Panigrahi Samman Award and is the first position holder in Sangeet Visharad Exam, 1983-1984.
‘Abhinaya (interpretative dance) is my strength. Odissi is an interpretative dance where you try to convey a story,’ said Jana after the performance. The dancer says she excels in the various nuances of a composition.
Jana likes performing in Delhi because here the exposure is more. But the dancer isn’t at all optimistic about the future of classical dance in India. ‘The youth of today isn’t interested in classical dance but if the artists come up with new acts, this generation cannot stay behind,’ she said.
When she started learning Odissi, Jana used to spend long hours to master the craft. ‘But now I just spend 2-3 hours a day,’ she said.
On Friday, she performed four items - Mangalacharan, Pallavi, Abhinay and Ardhanarishwar. She started with an invocation to Lord Vishnu.
‘Pallavi is a pure dance item based on taal and raag,’ said Jana.
In Abhinay, she delineated the saga of Yashoda trying to make Krishna sleep. Ardhanarishwar was based on Lord Shiva.
Jana, however, was not happy with the response to her performance. ‘This show was not publicised properly compared to private shows. Also, it was quite suffocating as the air conditioners were not functioning properly.'
Jana has earlier performed at the Konark Dance Festival, the Dover Lane Music Conference in Kolkata, and the festival of Indian Classical dance in the United States, among others.
The programme was organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). Jana is a panel artist with ICCR and Doordarshan.
Jana is a senior disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra and has performed all over the country. She has also bagged awards like Shringermoni Award, Sanjukta Panigrahi Samman Award and is the first position holder in Sangeet Visharad Exam, 1983-1984.
‘Abhinaya (interpretative dance) is my strength. Odissi is an interpretative dance where you try to convey a story,’ said Jana after the performance. The dancer says she excels in the various nuances of a composition.
Jana likes performing in Delhi because here the exposure is more. But the dancer isn’t at all optimistic about the future of classical dance in India. ‘The youth of today isn’t interested in classical dance but if the artists come up with new acts, this generation cannot stay behind,’ she said.
When she started learning Odissi, Jana used to spend long hours to master the craft. ‘But now I just spend 2-3 hours a day,’ she said.
On Friday, she performed four items - Mangalacharan, Pallavi, Abhinay and Ardhanarishwar. She started with an invocation to Lord Vishnu.
‘Pallavi is a pure dance item based on taal and raag,’ said Jana.
In Abhinay, she delineated the saga of Yashoda trying to make Krishna sleep. Ardhanarishwar was based on Lord Shiva.
Jana, however, was not happy with the response to her performance. ‘This show was not publicised properly compared to private shows. Also, it was quite suffocating as the air conditioners were not functioning properly.'
Jana has earlier performed at the Konark Dance Festival, the Dover Lane Music Conference in Kolkata, and the festival of Indian Classical dance in the United States, among others.
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