The legend of the Gotipua dancers is very much alive in the artisan town of Raghurajpur, Odisha. They’re little boys,” corrects Kumar when I insist on taking a quick snap with the “girls”, shoving my camera into his hands. “The Gotipua tradition will soon be lost to the Odissi tradition despite the fact that the Odissi had fed from the Gotipua,” remarks Ramli wistfully. Watching Gotipua dancers perform is an important learning experience for Odissi dancers because most of the aspects of Odissi have been taken from the Gotipua dance. We gasp and clap hard at their amazing dance, little realising that the future for this dancing troupe remains uncertain.

Source: New Strait Times December 23, 2017 06:11 UTC