| Khajuraho Dance Festivalon
Feb 25
Bhopal (PTI): The week-long
Khajuraho Dance Festival will begin at the world famous Khajuraho city
from February 25, a Madhya Pradesh minister said on Tuesday.
The annual dance festival,
to be coordinated by Ustad Allauddin Khan Sangeet Academy, will commence
with an Odissi dance performance by noted Odissi exponent, Gajnedra Panda
and his group from Bhubaneshwar, Culture and Public Relations Minister,
Laxmikant Sharma told reporters here.
The inaugural day will also
feature a Kathak presentation by Malavika Mitra from Howrah, he said. The
next day, Geeta Chandran of New Delhi, Darshna Jhaveri of Mumbai and Shagun
Butani of Gurgaon will stage Bharatanatyam, Manipuri and Odissi dances
respectively.
Held every year from 25th
February to 2nd March, Khajuraho Dance Festival takes place at the open-air
auditorium in front of the Chitragupta Temple dedicated to the Sun God
and the Vishwanatha Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. They are situated in
the Western Group of temples, which is the largest, well maintained and
most easily accessible temple group of Khajuraho. Started regularly since
2002, this weeklong festival has already become legendary with its outlandish
classical dance performances presented in a dreamlike setting of splendidly
illuminated temples. Khajuraho temples present sculptures depicting various
skills and arts of courtly love including dance and music in stone and
what venue can be more befitting to hold the cultural festival highlighting
the various classical dances of India!
Some of the best artists
and performers that have marked themselves in their fields come from the
various states of India to participate in the festival and the performances
including some of the best known dance styles such as the intricate footwork
of Kathak, highly stylized and sophisticated Bharathanatyam, soft lyrical
temple dance of Odissi, the dance dramas of Kuchipudi, Manipuri, the dance
of rare and ancient civilization and Kathakali stage fights with elaborate
masks. Recently, modern Indian dances have also found their place in the
Khajuraho Dance festival. Along with the dance performances one can also
see a number of craftsmen trading off their indigenous arts and crafts
to the visitors.
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