The Classical East Indian Temple Dance of Orissa (description below from Jyoti Rout's web site)

Odissi is an ancient, breathtakingly beautiful form of sacred dance, which was originally developed in the temple of Jagannath in Orissa, East India, as a form of worship and meditation. It was first encountered outside the temple in the early part of the sixteenth century. A class of tender aged dancers known as Gotipuas began performing Odissi for the masses to convey the spiritual stories, while the Maharis (temple dancers) continued the tradition within the temples. Odissi is an expressive and sophisticated art form, which features poetic nuance and fanciful storytelling. Highly stylized in nature, it utilizes powerful, energetic footwork (tandava), juxtaposed with sinuous, graceful feminine postures and movements (Lasya). Handed down from teacher to disciple for thousands of years, Odissi emphasizes, and in fact, centers around spirituality and devotion.
 
 

(How did you become a dancer? Did seeing dance as a child influence you?-- Michele Delattre)

 
 

From the very childhood all I was interested in was to dance. Somehow I never felt any attraction to anything else but dancing. But for my father education was very, very important so I tried to convince him that I was going to continue my academic education as I learned dancing. So I went to a school when I was 12 years old and studied formal classical dance training and at the same time I was going to school. So I went through high school and then I went to college. And I continued the dance, continued dancing. Actually I don't recall seeing any dance, or going to a performance or reading about it or what not. It's something that's in me. It's something that's inside me that wants to dance. It's just in me. And it's not only an art form for me; it's a spiritual path. It's a way to connect to the universe and feel a oneness with the whole universe and whole creation. It's just - it's very big. It's huge in me. I can see myself flying over the universe and just dancing on this huge stage. It's something that's very big in me.

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