Origin
Odissi dance is the typical classical dance form of Orissa and has its origin in the temples. The rhythm, the bhangis and mudras used in Odissi dance have a distinctive quality of their own. Odissi dance deals largely with the love theme of Radha and Krishna. This dance tradition was kept alive by the devadasis. Those who were attached to the Jagannath Temple were all Vaishnavitcs and those at Bhubaneswar were attached to Shaivite temples. Before the introduction of the Gitagovinda in temples, the devadasi used to dance to the recitation of hymns and bols of talas. But after Gitagovinda became part and parcel of the rituals, tile devadasis performed abhinaya with different bhavas and rasas. The Gotipua system of dance was performed by young boys dressed as girls. In this tradition one can detect jerking movements in place of smooth translations from one posture to another. Ray Ramananda the Governor of Rajamahcndri as a musician dancer and dramatist who taught dancing to a group of boys selected to enact his dance drama, jagannath Vallabha Nataka. it was performed in the Gotipua style.
Important terms
Alap In Indian classical music this is the slow introductory movement in raga. It is free of rhythm.
Bani Odissi term used to describe the spoken drum neumonics. During dance performances Bani are spoken by the percussionist or the guru.
Gotipua Young boys trained in the fine art of Odissi dance.
Khali This is the 'wave of the hand' when counting beats in a taal. A soft beat.
Susira Wind category of the 4 musical divisions, eg. Shehnai, Harmonium, and Bansuri.
Taal Cycle of beats in a particular pattern.
Famous gurus
1. lt. Kavichandra Kalicharan Patnaik
2. Padmabhushan Kelu Charan Mahapatra
3. Padmashree Pankaj Charan Das
4. Deba Prasad Das
5. Priyambada Hejmadi
6. Padmashree Sanjukta Panigrahi
7. Minati Mishra
8. Kumkum Mohanty
9. Oopalie Oparajita
10. Sangeeta Das