GOTIPUA

"GOTIPUA : the sacred dancers of Lord Krishna" - For centuries in India, the Gotipua dance tradition has survived in the small village of Raghurajpur, Orissa. In Oriya language, "Goti" means "single" and "Pua" means "boy". This dance is only performed by young acrobat boys who dress up as female to praise Lord Krishna. The classical Odissi dance has taken inspiration from the Gotipua dance, as most of the famous Odissi gurus were Gotipua dancers during their young days. "Bandha Nrutya" is one of the interesting feature : a dance with acrobatic figures and movements, where the postures mostly refer to mythological scenes from the life of Krishna. To be able to perform these figures, the boys need to start learning the dance at an early age, around 5 to 8 years old. Abhinna Sundar Gotipua Dance Institute, directed by the young guru Basanta Kumar Moharana, continues this ancient tradition in the Heritage village of Raghurajpur. More : http://www.photoregard.com http://www.gotipua.com