Director: Aruna Mohanty
Duration: 00:17:05; Aspect Ratio: 1.778:1; Hue: 27.138; Saturation: 0.426; Lightness: 0.097; Volume: 0.108
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.
Bijon Palei dances with Orissa Dance Academy. He trains under the guidance of Aruna Mohanty.
Here, Bijon performs Varsavisara, a piece choreographed by Aruna Mohanty. The parched Indian soil, weary of the prolonged heat of summer, eagerly welcomes the arrival of the monsoon. It is a symbol of new life and regeneration of the thrill and passion of romance. This dance is a celebration of the arrival of rain and pangs of separation the lovers suffer yearning for the beloved. Music is by Guru Ramahari Das and rhythm composition by Guru Dhaneswar Swain.
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