Gotipua

To transform into graceful feminine dancers the boys do not cut their hair, instead they style it into a knot and weaving garlands of flowers into it.

Some dancers still adhere to tradition by wearing a pattasari: a piece of thin fabric about 4 metres (13 ft 1 in) long, worn tightly with equal lengths of material on both sides and a knot on the navel.

Gotipua dance is in the Odissi style, but their technique, costumes and presentation differ from those of the mahari; the singing is done by the dancers.

It has two basic postures: tribhangi (in which the body is held with bends at the head, torso and knees) and chouka (a square-like stance, symbolising Jagannath).

Fluidity in the upper torso is characteristic of Odissi dance, which is often compared to the gentle sea waves which caress the Orissa beaches.

Each year, the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre organises the Gotipua Dance Festival in Bhubaneswar.

The Sarigama is a dance celebrating beauty, and highlighting the mastery of technique; it is portrayed by dancers and musicians carved into the outer walls of ancient temples.

Musical accompaniment is provided by the mardala (a two-headed drum, a percussion instrument in Orissa), gini (small cymbals), harmonium, violin, bansuri and one or two vocalists.

Some bandhas are found in oral tradition; these include: Maguni Charan Das, Padma Shri awardee and a recipient of the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, was one of the masters of the Gotipua dance.