Folk Dances of Odisha: Gotipua, Ranapa and Sambalpuri Forms

Where Odissi carries Odisha’s classical inheritance, the state’s folk dances keep its village squares alive — and, in the case of Gotipua, actually seeded the classical revival.

Gotipua: the boy dancers

When the mahari (devadasi) tradition weakened around the 16th century, troupes of boys dressed as women took up temple dance as service to Jagannath — the gotipua. They train from age six in bandha (acrobatic poses), sing in the Odissi vocal style, and wear the distinctive tied-topknot headdress. Raghurajpur heritage village near Puri remains the form’s flagship; the late Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, architect of modern Odissi, began as a gotipua.

Ranapa: the stilt dance

In coastal Balasore, dancers perform on light bamboo stilts (ranapa = stick), balancing while executing spins and squats to dhol and mahuri — a feat of stamina as much as grace.

Sambalpuri and western forms

Together they show the continuum from tribal culture through village Hinduism to the classical stage — one ecosystem, many rhythms.

References | ଆଧାର

• Sangeet Natak Akademi
• Odisha Tourism — festivals