No Lockdown For Dance Classes In Odisha; Find Out How

Photo courtesy: The New Indian Express

Bhubaneswar: Anything is possible in this digital world. Come to think of it, human movement may have come to a standstill due to the coronavirus but life continues. All because of tehcnology.

Unique circumstances lead to a unique response; As unique as continuing with dance classes through the digital medium. 

Odissi Gurus have turned to online training in dance and music, said a report in The New Indian Express. Gurus like Illeana Citaristi, Aruna Mohanty and Pravat Kumar Swainare walking into the new territory of Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Skype to compose new production and monitor a student’s ‘abhinaya’ or ‘nrutya’, said the report.

Illeana Citaristi has started teaching her students of a national institute and another training centre, Art Vision, the theories of Odissi using Microsoft Teams.

“During regular days, we tend to ignore the theory sometimes due to lack of time. But it is the right moment which can be utilised in teaching students about the nuances of Odissi, its techniques, history and the lives of Odissi legends,” she told The New Indian Express.

Aruna Mohanty of Orissa Dance Academy has formed a Whatsapp group for distributing assignments. Her students make small video clips of their practice at home and send her the video for evaluation. Her new production may highlight how the lockdown emphasised various layers of life.

Students of Nrutya Naivedya have uploaded more than 15 videos of their self-practise sessions at home on social media for the junior artistes to pursue. 

Guru Pravat Kumar Swain has launched his Youtube channel to upload videos of his training session titled ‘Sadhana’ while senior artiste Jyoti Rout is using the Internet to teach Odissi to her students across the world, including India, Seattle, San Francisco, etc.

A France-based artiste Mahina Khanum uploaded a video of spreading awareness on the outbreak using Odissi steps