Characteristics, Vocabulary, Repertoire

Odissi combines pure dance and intricate footwork, sculptural poses and story telling. It is performed in the form of Bhava (statement), Raga (melody), Tala (rhythm), Nritta (dance) and Nritya (expression).

Odissi is highly lyrical and graceful dance in all aspects: costuming, jewelry, music and body movements. It’s a plethora of visual delights: the beautiful poses of Odissi bear close resemblance with the relief sculptures of the Konark Sun Temple where the art once flourished. The striking features of Odissi are its intimate relation with the sculptures, where one feels the illusion of the sculptures coming to life in the dance.

Characteristics

Odissi is characterised by its curvaceous movements, sculpturesque poses full of languid grace and an imposing demeanour at the same time.

There are a number of characteristics of the Odissi dance. The style may be seen as a conglomeration of aesthetic and technical details. Odissi is characterized by fluidity of the upper torso (the waves of the ocean on the shores of Puri) and gracefulness in gestures and wristwork (swaying of the palms), juxtaposed with firm footwork (heartbeat of Mother Earth). All classical Indian dance forms include both pure rhythmic dances and acting or story dances. The rhythmic dances of Odissi are called batu/sthayi (foundation), pallavi (flowering), and moksha (liberation). The acting dances are called abhinaya.

The two main postures used in Odissi are the tribhangi (or tribhanga) and chaukha. Tribhangi is a three-body-bend in essence, and is very feminine in nature. The concept of Tribhangi divides the body into three parts, head, bust, and torso. Any posture which deals with these three elements is called Tribhangi. This posture is based on deflection of weight which gives the body aesthetic sensuousness and a curvy, sinuous appeal. The deflection of the limbs is achieved by shifting of the weight and movement of the torso in the opposite direction of the head and hip.

The other common position is Chaukha or chowka in which the weight is equally distributed and altogether four right angles create a perfect geometrical motif. The chaukha of Odissi is comparable with the araimandalam used in Bharatanatyam, except that chaukha is essentially wider than araimandalam.

Repertoire

The Odissi repertoire has a wide range of dance items evoking different emotions, and telling different tales. Some items are soft and sensuous while others are extremely dynamic; even ferocious.

A typical Odissi repertoire consists of the invocatory item 'Mangalacharan', a tribute to Mother Earth, Lord Jagannath and the other Gods, also with stanzas to welcome the audience and to thank one's Gurus.

There are 'Pallavis', which are pure dance pieces performed to 'bols', which are strings of rhythmic syllables (which don’t mean anything literally, but are used to emphasize movement – I think). A pallavi weaves graceful and intricate patterns of movements, lyrical dance passages that run parallel with rhythmic syllables of music based on a Raga.

'Abhinaya' which means 'action', is a dramatic piece where mudras (hand gestures), facial expressions and body language are used as tools to emote, describe and tell a story. In Odissi, abhinaya pieces are performed to both Sanskrit and Oriya songs, conveying the meaning of the lyrics.

The repertoire ends with 'Moksha' or 'Mokshya', the dance of liberation. It is a pure-dance piece where the dancer tries to merge with the divine in a final flourish of rhythm and movement.

Other common items include Dashavatara, a dance describing the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu, and Batu Nritta, based on Lord Shiva.