'Shape of you' Odissi choreography: Class vs Mass debate rages on

Odissi choreographed to the English song 'Shape Of You' by Ed Sheeran has gone viral on social media but Odissi purists are unhappy with the experiment.
Screengrab from the video (YouTube)
Screengrab from the video (YouTube)

Diana SahuEven as a video on Odissi choreographed to the English song 'Shape Of You' by Ed Sheeran has gone viral on social media with over 75K views on YouTube, Odissi purists are unhappy with the experiment. They feel Odissi as a dance form can be innovated but not adulterated.

The 4.25 minutes video created by a young tourism start-up, Detour Odisha, aims to prove that dance and music have no language barriers. The Detour Odisha team shot the video in gorgeous backdrops of
Bhubaneswar like Sisupalgarh (a third century AD fortified township), the exquisite Dhauli Shanti Stupa and the ninth century Brahmeswara temple.

Dressed in traditional attires, dancers Biswarupa Dixit, Smruti Pushpa Panda, Sulagnna Jena, Priyadarshini Pradhan and Madhusmita Swain demonstrate the elegance of Odissi in the backdrop of the State's rich architectural heritage to the beats of 'Shape of You'.

Danseuse Ileana Citaristi says as an experiment, the video is well produced. "But it is something which does not appeal to me. And I would be careful in using it as promotional tool to Odisha culture. It can give a totally wrong impression, if taken seriously," she says.

Ratikanta Mohapatra, director of Srjan, says though the Odissi dance and locations in the video are beautiful, the fusion of an English song and classical dance is not palatable. There are many different ways to bring in innovation to Odissi, says the Odissi guru, adding that there is no need to borrow music of another country to showcase Odisha's classical dance form. "I do not approve of this because it does not showcase the purity of Odissi. There is a line of control in every classicial dance form and newness shall be brought to the form by remaining within this line."

Dancer Aruna Mohanty agrees to Ratikant's view. She says in the dance form, music is the foundation on which the story rests. "But in this case, there is no Odissi music or story. It does not convey any
message," says Aruna, who has adopted many novels and stories from different cultures and presented them through Odissi. "In the name of innovation, one cannot do away with Odissi music from the dance form. If this be the case, then people may end up using Bollywood songs for Odissi dance," she says.

However, the Odissi cover of Sheeran's chartbuster is a hit among the public. "Irrespective of various perspectives on this, especially of classical dance lovers, I must say this is a great initiative,
and such a presentation has potential to attract not only national but international attention to Odisha from tourism point of view," says senior IAS officer Sachin Yadav.

Similalry, Pritish Choudhary, a software engineer says a purist may have his/her reservation but for a person who does not have any idea about the technicalities of the great dance form, the video is a
visual treat and must be appreciated. "I am sure it will attract a lot of likes and interest among the crowd
and generate good vibes towards Odisha and its dance form. Sure, some may argue that it's a dilution of the culture but culture is not somebody's property and they have given the task to uphold it. The use of this video may not be appropriate to showcase the culture of Odisha in a forum meant for that but nobody can act as a cultural fundamentalist to undermine the concept behind it," he says.

Kartik Aruda, a member of the Detour Odisha team, says the video was shot with an intention of highlighting Odisha and Odissi. "We have not tampered the pure dance form in any way. It was just a fusion experiment to portray the rich heritage of the State," he clarified.

Watch the video here:

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