Can a sacred dance ritual evolve into a playful, human-centered expression of prayer?
In short: Choreographer Bijayini Satpathy reimagines the traditional Odissi dance form in her final residency performance at The Met. By shifting focus from religious iconography to the raw emotional experience of prayer, she explores how playfulness serves as a vital bridge between the individual and the divine.
In her 2022 work Dohā, Satpathy moves beyond the standard theistic narratives of Odissi to emphasize bhāva, or the internal emotional state of the practitioner. By framing prayer as an embodied human act, she integrates a sense of spontaneity and joy into the rigid structure of ritualized movement.
The performance honors the historical legacy of the Mahari temple dancers and the Gotipua performers of Orissa, whose artistry shaped the foundation of the Odissi tradition. Recorded at the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium on September 13, 2022, the piece also serves as a tribute to the late painter Sam Gilliam.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Bijayini Satpathy: Dohā | MetLiveArts
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