The essence of Odissi lies in its sculpturesque quality; most of its beautiful poses bear close resemblance with the sculptures of the famous temples, which once nourished the art. This dance form demands tremendous physical fitness but also lays equal emphasis on sensitive facial expression more on the swatika bhava. The movements are so vigorous that it makes the dancer emotional, tired and exhausted. He/She falls into a trance or becomes senseless at the end of the performance. So this style of dance maintains a perfect balance between physical, mental and spiritual aspects of dance.
The Odissi dancers use their head, chest and upper body in soft flowing movements to express specific moods and emotions. There are a number of characteristics of the Odissi dance. The style may be seen as a combination of appreciative and technical details. Odissi is characterized by flowing of the upper body (the waves of the ocean on the shores of Puri) and gracefulness in gestures and wristwork (swaying of the palms), adjoining with firm footwork (heartbeat of Mother Earth). All classical Indian dance forms include both pure rhythmic dances and acting or story dances. The rhythmic dances of Odissi are called batu/sthayi (foundation), pallavi (flowering), and moksha (liberation). The acting dances are called Abhinaya. Odissi is an expressive and sophisticated art form, which features poetic touch and imaginary storytelling.
The technique of Odissi is based upon the "Chauka", a manly posture, and the weight of the body is distributed equally on both the sides. It is the posture of Lord Jagannath of Puri and reflects the balanced, all-encompassing and universal quality of "dharma" of Lord Jagannath. It is a "Sambhanga" or equally distributed position in terms of weight. Next comes the "Abhanga" position, in which body weight is displaced to any one side due to deflection of one or the other knee, in either standing or half sitting posture.
Then comes the "Tribhanga" position, the three-bend posture, in which a series of triangles are formed in the body. The bends are made at the knees, the torso and the neck. It is an extremely feminine posture represented in sculptures of female figures and is based upon the Hindu concept of iconography. This posture and the characteristic shifting of the upper body from side to side, makes Odissi a difficult style to execute. When mastered, it is the abstract of flowing grace and has a distinctively lyrical quality that is very appealing.
In Odissi, the body position is not merely a part of the vocabulary or framework. The posture by itself conveys a particular mood or message. The names of these postures too express the moods they represent.
