Gotipua dance

The Gotipua dance – performed only by boy dancers in female costume – is a devotional movement tradition from Orissa, India. It is in this tradition that the present-day Odissi dance form has its origins. In spite of centuries of political change, foreign invasion, loss of patronage and changing taste, Gotipua has survived, evolved and found ways to keep pace with the changing times. This traditional dance form is performed by young boys – from ages 3 to 12 - who dress in female attire and sing and dance to poetry from the Gita Govindam, traditional Oriya bhajans and Sanskrit shlokas.