Join Pratham Portland and Odissi Dance Company
(ODC) for Odissi Dance Festival in city of Portland, Oregon. The festival, Guru Kelucharan Guna Keertanam is an ode to the legendary Guru, Late Shri Kelucharan Mohapatra the founder and resurrector of the indian classical dance form "Odissi" as we see it today.
The festival which is conducted every year in different parts of the world, aims at giving the audiences an immersive experience into the world of odissi dance by featuring performances by several professional practitioners of the art form in the United States as well as India who are trained under the SRJAN (Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra's) style as well as other contemporary odissi styles. This is to bring the art community, art lovers and talented upcoming artists under the huge umbrella of the SRJAN family.
It aims to not only retain the tradition, but also explore the limitless possibilities in-terms of choreography and expression that is inherent to any classical dance form, specially Odissi with its rhythmic, lyrical, sensual and graceful movement vocabulary.
The festival also provides a platform for up and coming dancers to not only get inspired by the passionate performances by the professional practitioners but also get a chance to showcase their talent and learning so far thus inspiring them to attain greater heights in the performing arts and paving a way for the future professional dancers.
While promoting Odissi, the festival also embraces the idea of diversity and features other performances in other forms of Indian classical dance to celebrate and project the richness of the various classical dance forms while also showcasing the commonality in all of them - expression of human lives and values which is central to our society.
All in all, it is a unique festival designed to stay in touch with the roots, as well as propagate the spiritual, existential and social relevance of the dance form to today's audiences."
