Odias set to build bridges across all communities in Washington

Odias set to build bridges across all communities in Washington 3/04/2012


SIDDHARTHA SHANKAR MISHRA, BUREAU CHEIF, THESE DAYS


ODISHA NEWS: BHUBANESWAR




On the day of Martin Luther King Jr. Day January 16, 2012, the "Oriyas of Greater Seattle" was officially incorporated as a non-profit organization by the Secretary of State of the Washington state.



As part of the articles of incorporation, the mission of "Odias of Greater Seattle" is to promote activities for building bridges across all communities in the US for a better understanding of Oriya culture and exchange of information between Odisha and the US. To achieve this mission the "Oriyas of Greater Seattle" will organize and/or collaborate with cultural events, film shows, social events, performances, workshops and seminars showcasing the arts and cultures of Odisha by both local and international artists and speakers all across the US.





The first event by the Oriyas of Greater Seattle titled as SAMSARA: THE CYCLE OF LIFE, an Odissi dance performance by Shibani Patnaik with live music by four world class musicians is scheduled to take place at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center on Sunday April 29, 2012 at 3:30pm. This event will benefit the Summer Youth Leadership Program (SYLP) of the Northwest Asian Weekly Foundation and TASVEER's Independent South Asian Film Festival in Seattle. Shibani has been extensively trained in Odissi under the guidance of legendary masters like Late Guru Padmashree Gangadhar Pradhan and Gurus Aruna Mohanty, Manoranjan Pradhan, and Yudhistir Nayak from the Orissa Dance Academy. Shibani has presented Odissi at numerous dance festivals, conventions, museums, and universities in the USA and abroad.




Odissi, is one of the eight classical dance forms of India. It originates from the state of Orissa, in eastern India. It is the oldest surviving dance form of India on the basis of archaeological evidences from 1st Century B.C. It was suppressed under the British Raj, but has been reconstructed since India gained independence. It is particularly distinguished from other classical Indian dance forms by the importance it places upon the Tribhangi, the independent movement of head, chest and pelvis and upon the basic square stance known asChauka or Chouka that symbolizes Lord Jagannath. This dance is characterized by various Bhangas (Stance), which involves stamping of the foot and striking various postures as seen in Indian sculptures.



Orissa, officially spelled Odisha, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BCE. The modern state of Orissa was established on April 1, 1936, as a province in India, and consists predominantly of Oriya-speakers. April 1st is therefore celebrated as Utkala Dibasa (formation day of Orissa) in India. Oriya speakers are regarded as one of the ‘Transnational Ethnic Indian Groups’. In India, the language is spoken by over 31 million people, and globally over 45 million speak Oriya. It is one of the official languages of India and the major language of Orissa. Oriya language has spread to the other parts of the globe such as Burma, Malaysia, Fiji, Indonesia, Java, Sumatra, the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and UAE.