YAKSHAGANA

The origin of this can be traced to the rural areas of Karnataka. It is about 400 years old and is a blend of dance as well as drama. The language used for the `Gana` meaning `music` is Kannada and the themes are based on Hindu epics. The costumes are almost akin to the Kathakali dance costumes and the style too seems to have drawn inspiration from it. As prescribed in the Natya Shastra, it has the Sutra Dhara (conductor) and the Vidhushaka (the jester).

ODISSI

This is also based on the Natya Sashtra and it can be traced back to the 2 B.C. when the Jain king Shastra ruled. He himself was an expert dancer and musician, who arranged a performance of Thandava and Abhinaya. In the 17th century a class of boys known as the Gotipuas came into being. They dressed as women and danced in the temples. The present Odissi as a solo form, evolved out of all these. Its technique is built round a basic motif in which the human body takes the thrice deflected (tribhanga) position of Indian sculpture. The dances are performed to poetry ranging from invocations of Ganesha to the verses of the Gita Govinda. The dancer has scope to improve within the beats, the framework in the dance patterns and the freedom to interpret the poetic line in a variety of ways to evoke a single mood.