Konark: The 31st edition of the annual Konark Festival concluded here on Saturday celebrating Odissi dance as Odisha’s distinct identity.
While Odisha Government owned Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre from Bhubaneswar staged an impressive Odissi presentation as a fitting finale to the five-day dance festival at the amphitheatre, sand sculptors at the Chandrabhaga beach highlighted Odissi as Odisha’s pride and identity.
The sculptors from across India were participating in the five-day sand art festival that has been a major component and attraction of the Konark Festival since nine years that usually includes dance performances, crafts fair, literary session and art exhibition.
With well-known dancer-choreographer-guru Kasturi Patnaik as the dance director and celebrated dancer Sujata Mohapatra as the lead dancer, Odissi Research Centre’s group presentation lived up to the legacy of Odissi legend Kelucharan Mohapatra after whom the Centre has been named.
The fifth and final evening of the dance festival also featured Kathak dance by New Delhi based Drishtikon Dance Company of well-known choreographer Aditi Mangaldas.
