Odissi dancers take a shot at Guinness

BHUBANESWAR: International Performing Arts Promotions (IPAP), USA, and Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre attempted a world record for the largest Odissi dance confluence at the Kalinga Stadium here. As many as 555 Odissi dancers performed for 28 minutes that surpassed the five- minute requirement set by the Guinness World Records, explained Niranjan Tripathy, the official coordinator between Guinness  and IPAP. “We have created the record. The official requirement was to bring 500 Odissi dancers together for a five-minute performance, but we surpassed it with 555 Odissi dancers who performed for 28 minutes continuously,” informed Tripathy.   Divided into three sections, dancers as young as 13 performed five forms of classical Odissi __ Mangalacharan, Batu, Pallavi, Abhinaya and Mokshya. Students of Ramhari Das, Aruna Mohanty, Ratikant Mohapatra and many other Odissi gurus performed. There were dancers from as many as eight countries. For the record to be created, the headcount and duration of the performance would be taken into consideration.  Also statements from an independent jury would be considered.   Odissi guru Ratikant directed the performance while Tripathy and Pratap Das of IPAP coordinated the show. Around 40 teachers from different Odissi institutes choreographed the whole sequence. “A combination young and old made this attempt possible,” said Aruna. Sree Panda, one of the youngest participants, was elated and so were her proud parents.  The Guinness World Records will be shared by IPAP and Odissi Research Centre, informed Niranjan. They hope to receive the certificate within a week. Culture Minister Prafulla Samal announced at the event that the State Government has decided to work on a cultural policy that would try to identify all the artists across the State. “The Odissi artists can register themselves at the required forums so that we can find out the number of dancers the State has. This will also help  when we need to bring together such a massive number of dancers for any performance,” said Samal.