Āhuti | Dance production by Nrityagram & Chitrasena Dance Company

An extraordinary experience bringing the very best of two immense art forms - Odissi from India and Kandyan from Sri Lanka, in one exquisite choreography.
A magical collaboration between The Nrityagram Dance Ensemble (India) and The Chitrasena Dance Company (Sri Lanka), ‘Ahuti’ seamlessly melds the traditional beauty of Odissi and Sri Lanka’s native styles with contemporary dance, set to exquisite rhythms from both countries showcased by a stunning live orchestra.
The piece’s Artistic Director, Choreographer, and Sound Designer is none other than Nrityagram’s Surupa Sen herself, while Chitrasena’s Heshma Wignaraja is the Associate Choreographer. Surupa Sen also leads an addictive manjira for the show.
About the Dance Forms
Odissi, India
For centuries, a temple has looked out at a turbulent sea, its walls dancing a prayer to the rising sun. Magnificent ruins like these, in Odisha in Eastern India, confirm that Odissi was performed as far back as 200 BCE. Originally a sacred ritual dedicated to the gods, Odissi is one of the oldest dance traditions in the world. Its sinuous forms, languorous limbs and rapt expressions frozen in stone tell of a past rich in dance, music, myth and legend. Odissi speaks of love and union, between human and divine, transporting viewers to enchanted worlds of magic and spirituality. Its sensuousness and lyricism reflect both the motifs of Odisha temple sculpture as well as the poetry from the deep wellsprings of Oriya music.
Kandyan Dance, Sri Lanka
Kandyan dance comes from Kandy, an area in the Central hills region in Sri Lanka. According to legend, the origins of the dance lie in an exorcism ritual which was performed by shamans from India, who came to the island on the request of a king suffering from a mysterious illness. Originally performed by dancers who were identified as a separate caste and aligned to the Temple of the Tooth, the dance declined when support from the Kandyan kings ended in the colonial period. Kandyan Dance was revived and adapted for the stage in the 1940's by Chitrasena and his partner Vajira. Their work helped to reduce the caste barriers surrounding the dance and made it accessible to an urban, contemporary audience.