Odissi dance is an embodied form of prayer. It is a sacred offering of dance originating from  the heart of the temples in Jagannath Puri, India.

Through each movement, a story is told with Nritya, a combination of facial expressions, oppositional eye and torso movements, mudras (hand gestures) and various postures inspired by the sacred temple sculptures.

Originally it was only danced as a ritual offering within the inner sanctums of these temples by the servants of the Lord, deva dasi’s also known as Mahari’s. Since the women danced exclusively for the Deity of Lord Jagannatha another group of dancers formed who were called GotiPua. These dancers would perform in outside the Jagannatha temple in front of the King’s court for entertainment for the public. Goti means single and pua means boy. These young boys would dress and perform as the deva dasi’s for the public to witness the sacred dance for Lord Jagannatha, while honoring the sanctity of the Mahari’s sacred dances for Lord Jagannatha.

Since the British Invaded India these traditional temple dancers stopped performing in the temple exclusively. Fortunately the dedication and devotion of a small group of devotional stalwarts who comprehensively dedicated their lives and all their energies, revived and classicalized Odissi dance. Guru Pankaj Charan Das, Guru Debaprasad Das and the most universally admired Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. Each of them had extensive knowledge in classical Indian dance and traditional Indian music. They used their intelligence and devotion to transform the sacred temple dance into one of the 8 principal classical dances of India, next to Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Sattriya, Manipuri and Mohiniyattam.

Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, along with a few illustrious disciples like Sanjukta Panigrahi, Minati Mishra, Sonal Mansingh, Kumkum Mohanty, Madhavi Mudgal and Sujata Mohapatra have restored Odissi and established it as the crested ornament among the Indian classical dances worldwide.

Today Odissi dancers around the world practice this sacred art form to preserve its divine origins by creating a sacred offering to the Lord in their personal practice and on stage.