News & Links
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Orissi Links: Alphabetically
Chandra & David's Homepage has some information on the music of Orissi Dance.
Indian Arts and Heritage Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to aiding those of Indian origin, in America, with staying in touch with their cultural roots.
INTERNATIONAL ODISSI FESTIVAL 2003 at WASHINGTON DC, USA: In Washington, D.C. USA. They have a very nice and informative site begun As the date August festival date approaches their site should become even more informative. To go there simply click the link above. (Photos of Urvasi Dancers at the Festival are now displayed at that web site.)
Indian Life & Style: An interesting article on Ratna Roy. (May-June 2005)
INTERNATIONAL ODISSI FESTIVAL, SHARDHANJALI - A Tribute to Guru Deba Prasad Das: The festival took place in New Delhi from December 17-19 of 2001. This may have been one of the more interesting international "Odissi" festivals in past years. Most of the ones in the past have tended to focus on one guru to the exclusion, or marginalization, of the others. While the primary focus of this festival was unabashedly Guru Deba Das, other styles of Orissi were honoured as well. More information about this festival can be found at the above link, this paragraph.
Konark Natya Mandap: Festivals are held annually at the Monarak Natya Mandap. Follow the link link to learn the most recent information about current festivals.
Odissidance.com is an enormous, impressive, and informative site. Almost everyone in Orissi is mentioned there. Padmabibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra is doing a great service to Orissi dance by supporting such an in depth site.
Odissi Kala Kendra: Orissi site, has extensive information on Orissi Dance, gurus, and performers. A must see site for those interested in the subject.
Mardala.com: An informative site for those interested in the mardala (drum played for Orissi dancing). It also looks like a potentially interesting forum. It would be nice to see a lot more traffic there though. While discussions about Orissi music seem to be the general object of the site, subjects vary to dance and resources as well. What makes it an especially interesting site is the ability of visitors to become involved. More should!
Rajika Puri has a tastefully designed and compact website. Rajika performs both Orissi and Bharata Natyam. While not a source for information on Orissi Dance, per se (there are two informative small areas at the top and bottom of the
Indian Dance & Theatre page), it is interesting to see what one of Deba Prasad Das' students has been up to for several years in New York and abroad.
Travel.indiamart.com: Short but sweet, and some interesting tidbits. As obviou from its name the site is for those wish to travel in India.
Of passing interest:There is nothing particularly extraordinary about this page, but I thought it interesting the City of Olympia would have a photo of the Urvasi Dancers there. We were not even made aware of it.
Kathak
There are many fascinating sites relating to Kathak.
Here are a few with attendent quotes:
Chhandika about Kathak: "In the course of history, several gharanas (schools) of Kathak developed, each differentiated from the others by technical approach and stylistic preference. Of these schools, the Jaipur gharana and the Lucknow gharana, named after the cities in which they were cultivated, are the most renowned. As opposed to the Jaipur gharana, which emphasizes the technical mastery of pure dance and swift turns, the Lucknow gharana emphasizes expressive content including refined gesture and abhinaya (expression). The Lucknow style is said to have begun with Thakur Prasadji, dancer in the court of Wajid Ali Shah, the last nawab of Oudh, in the mid 1800s. Under the nawab’s patronage, the arts, and in particular dance and music, flourished. Muslim patrons of the time valued dance as an aesthetic art and sensuous expression of emotions and experiences."
Tamil Star: "Gradually, the two schools became distinctively different-the Jaipur Gharana focussed on layakari, or rhythmic wizardry, while the Lucknow Gharana expounded bhava or moods and emotions. Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was instrumental in the Lucknow Gharana’s growth. (see Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ke Khilari) deal with the period). However, both schools have Radha & Krishna as their central theme."
kathakdance: "Kathak north Indian style of classical dance, characterized by rhythmic footwork danced under the weight of more than 100 ankle bells, spectacular spins, and the dramatic representation of themes from Persian and Urdu poetry alongside those of Hindu mythology. Kathak arose from the fusion of Hindu and Muslim cultures that took place during the Mughal period (1526-1761). More than any other South Asian dance form, kathak expresses the aesthetic principles of Islamic culture. The influence of kathak is also visible in the Spanish flamenco tradition.
The origins of the kathak style lie in the traditional recounting of Hindu myths by Brahmin priests called kathiks, who used mime and gesture for dramatic effect. Gradually, the storytelling became more stylized and evolved into a dance form. With the arrival in northern India of the Mughals, kathak was taken into the royal courts and developed into a sophisticated art form; through the patronage of the Mughal rulers, kathak took its current form."
Sitara Devi: "What is popularly known as kathak today is the durbar or court style which kings and nawabs patronised in the 18th-19th century. The real kathak with its real features was slowly forgotten. It was the Lucknow gharana, promoted by the Oudh kings, which later became the source of kathak as we know today..."
Other
Maha Kumbh Mela page is unrelated to Classical Indian Dance, but an interesting place to explore. It provides an "on the ground" Westerner's point of view. The Kumbh Mela of year 2000 was the largest peaceful gathering of humanity in all history and attended by many people from all around the globe. Plenty of famous personages were on hand, and not only were media there, but Hollywood had several representatives in the form of actors and actresses who were participants.