ODISSI

HISTORY :Odissi dancers are found depicted in the hills of Udayagiri {near Bhubaneshwar} dating back to the 1st century B.C. Thus ODISSI being the oldest dance form there was a move to classify it as a separate classical system. As the traditional Odissi singers and musicians were very much influenced by the Hindustani concepts , they found it difficult to present the music in its original form.Had they succeeded in having ODISSI music declared to be a separate system , then it would be hard to justify calling it classical .It would have failed to achieve any level of ethnic transcendence that its enjoying today and would essentially be reduced to the level of "traditional" art form.