Director: Gangadhar Pradhan
Duration: 00:12:05; Aspect Ratio: 1.778:1; Hue: 23.638; Saturation: 0.382; Lightness: 0.134; Volume: 0.110
Summary: The 4th International Odissi Dance Festival in 2011 was held from December 23 to 30, 2011, at Rabindra Mandap Bhubaneswar. The festival was preceded by an attempt to create a world record by having around 550 dancers perform together at Kalinga Stadium. It saw the participation of most major Odissi ensembles in Orissa and a few from outside the state. With performances for over twelve hours each day, the festival featured several hundred performers in solo, duet and group works over eight days. In its scale, the festival offered a bird's eye view of the landscape of contemporary Odissi and its ever-changing nature. It foregrounded new trends in choreography, music and costuming. The seminars during the festival sparked lively debates on issues and concerns in Odissi. One such concern, voiced repeatedly, questioned the definition of tradition within the space of the dance form and the limits it could be stretched to. This raised parallel questions about innovation and experimentation in Odissi - a debate that found itself mirrored in the performances during the festival.
Ulrika Larsen trained in Odissi as an ICCR scholar, studying at Triveni Kala Sangam, Orissa Dance Academy and Nrityagram. She now promotes, performs and teaches Odissi dance in Sweden, focusing on developing her own artistic expression as a freelancing dancer and choreographer. She is presently touring Madhus dröm for children aged 5-11 and teaches Indian dance within Skapande skola. Her organisation Odissi Dansproduktion is a platform for exploring the essence and relevance of Odissi to cultures outside of India. She aims to deepen her work in merging Odissi with a contemporary and sometimes urban environment. Ulrika is also producer and artistic director for the annual festival Movement in exile that promotes contemporary dance and performing arts originating from other than western traditions.
Here, she performs Shiva Panchakam.
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