Gotipua Dance by Narayani Gotipua Kala Parishad,Balipatna,Khurda

The Narayani Gotipua kala Parishad of Khurda,Orissa upholds the gotipua tradition, which came to prominence with the decline of maharis dancing in temples.  Literally meaning "single boy" in Oriya, the gotipua dance is performed by adolescent boys dressed in girls`costume.  Consisting of many acrobatic elements, the gotipua dance form also influenced the reconstruction of Odissi in the 1960s and resemblances in some postures and movements can be seen between the two.  A typical repertoire consists of an invocatory piece,pure dance and an expressional item.