Gotipua: Catapulting into Popularity
The ancient semi-classical dance from Orissa is winning fans in tech city Bangalore.
Till a few days ago, very few of Bangalore's young people had ever heard about 'Gotipua'. So when the Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY)'s Bangalore Chapter proposed presenting the semiclassical Indian danceform at Peoples Education Society Institute of Technology (PESIT), an engineering college in Bangalore, the staff organised a 'lucky dip' contest with pendrives as give-away prizes to entice students into attending the dance show.
But post the performance, students in PESIT have become fans of this danceform from Orissa, a precursor of the world-famed Odissi. The dance earned hundreds of admirers as the group charmed audiences. The artistes danced an unadulterated form of 'Gotipua', (literally, 'single boy') a dance in which boys dress up in women's costumes and makeup and perform the 'bandha' -- intricate dance poses with acrobatics. The artistes were from Konark Natya Mandap, a dance school led by renowned Odissi dance teacher Guru Gangadhar Pradhan, based in Konark, Orissa, famous for its Sun Temple.
At PESIT, on Friday, the audience responded with loud applause, appreciative whistles, and a spontaneous standing ovation at the end of the performance. The admiration was not misplaced. The artistes delivered, over an hour and a half, some stunning art, creating complex scenes with poses involving acrobatics combined with gracious Odissi. What astonished the audience, already staggering with the impact of the team's talent, was that all the eight talented graceful 'girls' were actually little boys, aged more or less around 10 years.
Medhini, an engineering student, said, "The dancers looked like they had no bones!" Another two girls, both enegineering students, said, "I never knew boys could be so graceful. And their expressions were so beautiful!"
The dance team had a troupe of eight young artistes, accompanied by a music group, led by an equally tender-aged lead singer. On Friday afternoon, the team charmed its way through an enthralling performance at a performance in PESIT, an engineering college in South Bangalore.
The performance was a part of a programme organised by the Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY)'s Bangalore Chapter, presented through 'Virasat 2010' dedicated to Guru Rabindranath Tagore on his 150th birth anniversary.
Innocent Talent
Most of the dancers, whose parents are daily wage earners or farmers, have been learning from a very young age. Tapas Kumar Nayak has been learning the dance from the age of four under Guru Swain. Does he not miss his family, his parents, being so far from home? Banamdar Swain, who played the violin, said, "Why should he fear? "Aami baba, aami maa" (I am his father and his mother"). Tapas himself said he wanted to be an Odissi dancer when he grew up.
The dancers, all minors, were unaware of their innocence. As the dance began with the ritual salutations to the "guru" (teacher), the first dancer could be seen yawning widely, even as his hands were folded in a dutiful "Namaskar". He, however, went on to perform an outstanding dance, involved entirely.
At the formal roundtable after the programme with the chief guest, some of the young artists could not resist swinging around in their swivel chairs, as they sipped flavoured milk. Yet another dancer played with the ribbon bow tied around the bouquet that had been handed to him.
Eleven year old Sumendra, Bhubaneswar, who is taught the dance by his 'guru' Chintamani Raut of the Konark Natya Mandap, said the best thing about Bangalore he liked was Nrityagram, the dance village on the outskirts of the city. Other than that, he enjoyed flying to Bangalore. He said, "I had seen a plane before but this is the first time I travelled by it".
Busy Schedule
Between 10-18 September, the group danced at 12 schools and colleges in Bangalore. Next, they will be in Madanapalle, to dance in the Rishi Valley School and the Rural Education Centre, also in the same location. Going by the audience response, at the next Gotipua performance, a 'lucky dip' contest bait may not be required to lure students to attend the show.
END
Till a few days ago, very few of Bangalore's young people had ever heard about 'Gotipua'. So when the Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY)'s Bangalore Chapter proposed presenting the semiclassical Indian danceform at Peoples Education Society Institute of Technology (PESIT), an engineering college in Bangalore, the staff organised a 'lucky dip' contest with pendrives as give-away prizes to entice students into attending the dance show.
But post the performance, students in PESIT have become fans of this danceform from Orissa, a precursor of the world-famed Odissi. The dance earned hundreds of admirers as the group charmed audiences. The artistes danced an unadulterated form of 'Gotipua', (literally, 'single boy') a dance in which boys dress up in women's costumes and makeup and perform the 'bandha' -- intricate dance poses with acrobatics. The artistes were from Konark Natya Mandap, a dance school led by renowned Odissi dance teacher Guru Gangadhar Pradhan, based in Konark, Orissa, famous for its Sun Temple.
At PESIT, on Friday, the audience responded with loud applause, appreciative whistles, and a spontaneous standing ovation at the end of the performance. The admiration was not misplaced. The artistes delivered, over an hour and a half, some stunning art, creating complex scenes with poses involving acrobatics combined with gracious Odissi. What astonished the audience, already staggering with the impact of the team's talent, was that all the eight talented graceful 'girls' were actually little boys, aged more or less around 10 years.
Medhini, an engineering student, said, "The dancers looked like they had no bones!" Another two girls, both enegineering students, said, "I never knew boys could be so graceful. And their expressions were so beautiful!"
The dance team had a troupe of eight young artistes, accompanied by a music group, led by an equally tender-aged lead singer. On Friday afternoon, the team charmed its way through an enthralling performance at a performance in PESIT, an engineering college in South Bangalore.
The performance was a part of a programme organised by the Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY)'s Bangalore Chapter, presented through 'Virasat 2010' dedicated to Guru Rabindranath Tagore on his 150th birth anniversary.
Innocent Talent
Most of the dancers, whose parents are daily wage earners or farmers, have been learning from a very young age. Tapas Kumar Nayak has been learning the dance from the age of four under Guru Swain. Does he not miss his family, his parents, being so far from home? Banamdar Swain, who played the violin, said, "Why should he fear? "Aami baba, aami maa" (I am his father and his mother"). Tapas himself said he wanted to be an Odissi dancer when he grew up.
The dancers, all minors, were unaware of their innocence. As the dance began with the ritual salutations to the "guru" (teacher), the first dancer could be seen yawning widely, even as his hands were folded in a dutiful "Namaskar". He, however, went on to perform an outstanding dance, involved entirely.
At the formal roundtable after the programme with the chief guest, some of the young artists could not resist swinging around in their swivel chairs, as they sipped flavoured milk. Yet another dancer played with the ribbon bow tied around the bouquet that had been handed to him.
Eleven year old Sumendra, Bhubaneswar, who is taught the dance by his 'guru' Chintamani Raut of the Konark Natya Mandap, said the best thing about Bangalore he liked was Nrityagram, the dance village on the outskirts of the city. Other than that, he enjoyed flying to Bangalore. He said, "I had seen a plane before but this is the first time I travelled by it".
Busy Schedule
Between 10-18 September, the group danced at 12 schools and colleges in Bangalore. Next, they will be in Madanapalle, to dance in the Rishi Valley School and the Rural Education Centre, also in the same location. Going by the audience response, at the next Gotipua performance, a 'lucky dip' contest bait may not be required to lure students to attend the show.
END
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