Origination Behind Odissi Dance Form

Having the culture, tradition, authenticity and purity of Odisha, Odissi dance is very much famous on the  world wide. Odisha is the birthplace of Odissi. But there are some unknown facts about it's origination.

Odissi dance has evolved from the folk dance 'Gotipua'. Gotipua is a traditional dance form in the state of Odisha. Mostly young boys perform acrobatic figures as dressed up as a woman. They praised Lord Jagannath and Krishna. Historically, the temples in Odisha had female dancers. They were named as 'Devadasis' or 'Maharis'. They were devotees of Jagannath Dham and Konark Sun Temple. Nritya Mandap was the dancing stage of them. Through their gesture, posture etc. they give their tribute to God.  Devadasis expresses the story of Deity's life through their dance. From this dance form Odissi dance has originated. Most of the Odissi dancers like Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra etc. were the Gotipua dancers at their young age. 

Odissi is a dance form combined by Tandava (vigorous, masculine) and  lasya(graceful, feminine) dances. It is consists of Abhinaya, Mudras, Bhangas and so on. Through these steps Odissi dancers expressed religious stories of theological ideas of Vaishnavism. They also relatable to the ideas of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism too.

The relationship between Odissi and Gotipua are very close.  According to the tradition they are divided into two forms. Odissi is performed by female dancers. When male performers expressed these religious stories as wearing woman clothes it is considered as Gotipua. But at the end both represents the authenticity and purity of Odisha.