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Odissi dance brings alive the arrested movement illustrated in the temple
sculptures, Pata Chitra paintings and palm leaf manuscripts. Much like
motion imaging in Cinema, Odissi dance movements seamlessly unfold an
array of sculptural poses with agility and grace displaying the
choreographers ingenuity and the dancers expertise. This paper focuses on
understanding how dance postures are translated into a language of lyrical
movements, using examples of choreographies by Guru Kelucharan
Mohapatra (Guruji). My association with him began when I started my
training in Odissi dance in Kala Vikas Kendra, Odisha in the late sixties and
continued with him until the mid nineties. During these three decades I had
the opportunity to observe him compose dance numbers and dance dramas
in Cuttack and Mumbai, and participate in his dance productions. I will share
ideas he incorporated and expanded upon while choreographing select
Pallavis (dance number in the Odissi repertoire), the Batu Nritya (pure dance
number in Odissi repertoire) and group formations in dance dramas borrowed
from paintings and other artistic illustrations.

Pallavis
Pallavis (dance numbers in the Odissi dance repertoire) continue to be
passed from one generation of dancers to the next and never fail to enthrall
audiences when performed meticulously. Though not exhaustive, the table on
the following page lists some of the Pallavis Guruji choreographed in
partnership with Mishraji. The legendary singer and music composer Shri
Bala Krishna Das also composed music for various dance dramas and dances
in the Odissi style during Gurujis tenure in Kala Vikas Kendra.







#
Pallavis choreographed by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra
Serial
No.
Year Name of Pallavi Raga Odissi
Tala
Music
Composition
1. 1957 Basant Basanta Ek Tali Balakrushna
das
2. 1959 Kalyan Kalyan Yati Balakrushna
Das
3. 1961 Saveri Saveri Tala
Malika
Balakrushna
Das
4. 1965 Mohana Mohana Triputa Bhubaneshwar
Mishra
5. 1965 Sankarabharan Shankarabharan Ashta Bhubaneshwar
Mishra
6. 1968 Gatibheda Bageshshri Ektali Bhubaneshwar
Mishra
7. 1972 Arabhi Arabhi Ashta Bhubaneshwar
Mishra
8. 1978 Hamsadhwani Hamsadhwani Ek Tali Bhubaneshwar
Mishra
9. 1979 Khamaj Khamaj Jhampa
& Tala
Malika
Bhubaneshwar
Mishra
10. 1981 Behag Behag Ek Tali Bhubaneshwar
Mishra
11. 1981 Kirwani Kirwani Khemta Bhubaneshwar
Mishra
12. 1983 Bilahari Bilahari Ek Tali Bhubaneshwar
Mishra
13. 1993 Mukhari Mukhari Triputa Bhubaneshwar
Mishra
14. 1996 Singhendra Singhendra Triputa Madhup Mudgal

Pallavis are dance numbers that display elaboration of a melody in song,
rhythm and dance. Based on a particular raag (melody), the pace of the
dance steps and movements increase exhibiting the various textures of the
melody through dance. The unique elements Guruji often used in the
choreography of his Pallavis are the use of geometrical paths in movement,
even transitions in footwork and postures, torso movements aligned with
footwork, and smooth interweaving of postures set to harmonious music. For
example, in the Vasant Pallavi, Guruji employed the basic series of dance
steps in tribhangi and chowk (the main postures of the Odissi dance style)
set in a rhythmic pattern of four beats. Being one of his earliest compositions,
Batu Nritya focuses on showing the basic footwork executed in tribhangi and
chowk. The diagram on the following page illustrates the opening dance
$
sequence in the tribhangi position and another in the chowk position that is
integrated towards the end of the dance number.

Dance Sequence in Tribhangi

Source: Odissi Path Finder Vol II P.36

Dance Sequence in Chowk

Source: Odissi PathFinder Vol I P. 104- 105
%
The dance composition in Vasant Pallavi brings out the simple yet unique
lyrical grace of the Odissi dance style in Raag Vasant (Spring) while
exhibiting the dominant squarish posture of Chowk and the three bends in
the S-like posture of Tribhangi.

Guruji focused on different elements in other Pallavis:
Drawing Circles with usage of body movements and steps following
circular paths in Arabhi Pallavi
The Pahandi (the rocking gait of Lord Jaganath when he is brought
from the temple sanctum to the chariot during the Ratha Yatra
festival) in Kirwani Pallavi. Also borrows elements of from the
traditional dance movements pf the Maharis(women who traditionally
danced in the main sanctum of the Jaganath Puri temple)
Asymmetry in Behag Pallavi
The intricacies of taal (rhythmic patterns) by using the three, four, five,
seven, and nine beats pattern in Gati Bheda Pallavi.
In Kalyan Pallavi and Bilahari Pallavi the movements and steps he
employed resonated the traditional flow and texture of Odiya music.

His ingenuity was in the way he captured, visualized ideas by stringing
together images, dance steps, and elements of music into movement
sequences. Born in a family of painters, and percussionists, Gurujis visual
and drumming skills were groomed through observation and hands-on
training. Temple singing and recitation of verses from scriptures in the
vicinity of his home in Raghurajpur trained his ears to understand the system
of notes and tones used in traditional tunes. Gurujis process of translating
images into dance comes close to the theory of imaging coined by Gilles
Deleuze. Deleuze was a French philosopher who, from the early 1960s until
his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. In his
book, Guide to Reading Deleuzes The Movement-Image, Part I: The
Deleuzian Notion of the Image, or Worldslicing as Cinema Beyond
the Human, he writes,
&

The entire universe is interconnected, but any individual aspect,
any part of it, is an image. My body, a single atom, the planet
Earth, the Sun, a dog, these are all images. This may seem like
an odd usage of the word, but whenever confused, you can
replace this word in your head with its verb form to image.

According to Deleuz, an image if seen as a verb is imaging. Applying this to
the phrase movement image is imaging of movement and a image of
perception or image of time is imaging perception and imaging time.
Much like the Deleuzian notion, Gurujis mind was constantly imaging
movement, which was useful in his dance making. Even when carrying out
daily tasks, it was evident that his mind was focused on choreography.
During our dance tours he was often seen thinking about shapes, levels and
balance. While waiting on railway platforms for the connecting train, he
would stack our suitcases by size and color to create different shapes. By
balancing and organizing bags he visualized his process of choreographing
group formations.

Batu Nritya
Batu Nritya, a pure dance piece in the Odissi repertoire, is yet another
example of his process of imaging. In this dance number, Guruji replicates
postures from the sculptural panels of musicians and dancers carved on the
walls of the Sun Temple in Konark. In the dance piece Batu Nritya, Guruji
links the images of a Veena player followed by flute, mardal, and cymbals
with steps and movements.

The photo on the following page displays these images of the drummers,
veena players, cymbal players, and flautists alongside dancers in various
postures.
'

Konark Temple Panel

Photo Credit: Shailan Parker

Guruji often borrowed images from Patachitra paintings and added
movements using a group of dancers. For example, the photograph of Srjan
dancers showing Goddess Durga is shaped from the juxtaposed Patachitra
painting. In the Abhinaya on Goddess Durga, Guruji links illustrations from
paintings using movements, facial expressions, and gestures to narrate the
story.












(
On the 50
th
anniversary of Indian independence, he was commissioned to
compose a dance piece on the famous patriotic song Vande Matram by
Bankim Chandra Chattapadhay. In his composition Guruji presents the
diversity of India by using movements from folk dances and drawing the map
of India in the group formation while interpreting the lyrics of the song. The
photograph of Srjan dancers below illustrates the map of India.


Guruji choreographed approximately 150 dance numbers and dance dramas
in his lifetime (Pradakshina ). He was commissioned to create new works
mainly by art institutions like Kala Vikas Kendra (KVK), Cuttack; Odissi
Research Center, Bhubaneshwar; National Center for the Performing Arts,
Mumbai; Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi; and community
organizations like Kumar Utsav and Raja Utsav Samiti in Cuttack. He
composed many solo dance numbers of the Odissi repertoire during his
tenure in KVK and at other times on the request of individual dancers from
different parts of India. In the process of choreography, Gurujis main
collaborator for music composition was Pandit Bhubaneshwar Mishra
(Mishraji).

)
As illustrated in the examples discussed above, Gurujis reference points in
his dance making were dance sculptures and Patachitra paintings. He
meticulously linked dance postures with stylized transitional movements. Apt
use of levels and balance, symmetry versus asymmetry, and gradual
increase in tempo, meter and rhythm brought in fluidity in the dances he
choreographed. Guruji often said,

The real dance must convey the feeling of undivided existence,
that a spectator can feel that he is not different from the thing
observed.

Gurujis body of work continues to be learned and performed by Odissi
dancers all over the world. Guruji and his lifelong collaborator Pandit
Bhubaneshwar Mishra have etched an indelible mark in the history of Odissi
dance.


References

Gautam, Chatterjee (2006); Glimpses of Eternity, The Hindu, New Delhi
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/04/07/stories/2006040701270300.htm

Pradakshina (2001): Commemorative Volume on 75
th
Birth Anniversary of
Keucharan Mohapatra. New Delhi

Vitale Christopher (2011,April 29): Guide to Reading Deleuzes Cinema II:
The Time-Image, Part I: Towards a Direct Imaging of Time to Crystal-
Images.
Retrieved from http://networkologies.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/tips-for-
reading-deleuzes-cinema-ii-the-time-image-towards-a-direct-imaging-of-
time/

Cover images:
(Left) Konark Panel photo by Shailan Parker,
(Center) Sketches by Panda D.C., Kanungo J. & Mohapatra B.
(Right) Palm Leaf photo by Shabnam Samuel
*+
About the Author

Rohini Doshi-Dandavate holds a doctoral degree in Cultural Policy
and Arts Administration from the Ohio State University and presently resides
in San Francisco, CA. She earned her graduate degree in Odissi dance from
Kala Vikas Kendra, College of Indian Dance and Music, Cuttack, India. Her
gurus are Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Guru Raghunath Dutta, Guru Ramani
Ranjan Jena, and Dr Menaka Thakkar.

As an artist in the Arts in Education Program of the Ohio Arts Council, she
has conducted workshops and lecture demonstrations in Odissi dance for
students in schools and colleges in Ohio since 1994. She offers courses in
Odissi dance in educational institutions and community organizations.
Rohinis research papers/articles are posted at
http://rohinidandavate.wordpress.com