History was created on Friday when 555 Odissi dancers, a large number of them belonging to foreign countries, performed in unison at Kalinga stadium here in the city, to enter their names in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The artistes, in their 30-minute show, presented all forms of the dance like Mangalacharan, Botu, Vandana, Abhinaya and Moksha.
Noted Odissi exponent Aruna Mohanty and dance critic Meera Venkatraman were present on behalf of the Guinness Book of World Records as jury members.
Sources said all the participants will be given away certificates by the Guinness Book of World Records authorities on Sunday when the official announcement on the event getting into the record book is likely to be made.
Mr Pratap Das, the chairman of the International Odissi Dance Festival and the main spirit behind the show said, “The basic objective behind organising such a mega event was to take Odissi to a new pedestal of grand international recognition and set a record.”
Former Indian ambassador to the US, Mr Lalit Mansingh, said the grand Odissi dance presentation would go down in the history as an epoch making event.
The department of culture of the Odisha government, Gur Kelu Charan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre and Srjan, a leading Odissi forum, had jointly organised the grand show here.
The show was performed for half-an-hour from 3.30 pm to 4 pm.
Guru Ratikant Mohapatra choreographed dance show while Guru Ramahari Das acted as the music director.
Sources said the Odisha government, inspired by the astounding performance of around 2,800 Kuchipudi dancers who earned the Guinness World Records in 2010 in Hyderabad, decided to host such a mega Odissi extravaganza.
The Friday’s performance at Kalinga stadium also marked the inauguration of the seven-day International Odissi Dance Festival.
According to state department of culture sources, nearly 200 Odissi dancers from 17 countries are participating in this event.
“International Odissi Dance Festival is not a conventional event. It has been conceptualised as an annual union of the ever growing global Odissi family in the land of Odissi,” said convenor Kedar Mishra.