Odissi Dance History

Series Summary

Odissi, also known as Orissi, is an Indian classical dance style that originated over 2000 years ago. Though its history is long, the dance was brought to near extinction during the colonial period. Combining a variety of aesthetic and technical details, the dance is used to tell a story that is almost exclusively religious. The most common figure depicted in Odissi dance is Krishna, a very powerful Indian god, but there are other supreme beings that are part of the dance as well. Because of the attention to detail, the Odissi is one of the most technical dances of India. However, the effort is well worth it. Blending Indian music, costumes and dance movements, the Odissi is a delight to watch and dance. In this free video series, learn how to dance the Odissi. Our expert is a professional Indian dancer that has over 25 years experience. With her demonstration, learn all about this classical Indian dance. Learn about the history of the Odissi. Also, learn about the costumes used in Odissi. Interested in the head and hand gestures used in the dance? Our expert demonstrates how to move them to tell a story. Expanding cultural dance knowledge is always a great idea. So, take a moment, and learn more about the Odissi today!

Video Transcript

"In this clip, I'm going to talk to you about the origin of Odissi dance. Odissi dance traces its History and origin to the state of Orissa in India. Which is on the Eastern border, along the Bay of Bengal. There are traces of Odissi dance found on temple carvings. That date back and have been studied archaeologically to the Second Century, BC. You find carvings in caves and also on the temples. There is also reference to Odra Nritya . Which is actually the state of Orissa, was called Odra Desh. And this reference has been made in our two main Bibles of Classical Indian dance. Which is the Natya Shastra. Which was written by Bharat Muni in 300 BC. And there is a reference to Odra Naach in that. So we know that Odissi was being danced, even back then. There are also books since then. The Abhinay Darpan and also the Abhinay Chandrika. That have been written about Odissi dance. From which we draw our technique and our basic style."