The High Commission of India in collaboration with the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, and Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) presents that “Mayurbhanj Chhau Dance” of India by Project Chhauni from Thursday, December 5 to December 9, 2019 in Guyana.
The dance group will perform December 6 at Bal Nivas, Berbice commencing at 18:00h and on December, 7 at Dharmic Sanskritik Kendra, Prashad Nagar, Georgetown at 19:00h.
The group will also conduct a workshop and performance on December 7 at 13:00h and on December 8 at 13:30h at Dharmic Sanskritik Kendra.
The public is hereby invited to attend the events.
This is an important step taken by the High Commission towards cultural exchange between India and Guyana and also to provide an opportunity for the friendly people of Guyana to witness this popular Indian dance from.
Project Chhauni, an initi ative of District Administration of Mayurbhanj in India to revive the lost glory of dance form Mayurbhanj Chhau, was to facilitate the artistes of Mayurbhanj chhau with an apt scope of training and subsequently leading to a respectable livelihood.
It was launched on May 19, 2016 by Sri Rajesh Prabhakar Patil (Collector and District Magistrate of Mayurbhanj) at Baripda, Mayurbhanj in Odisha State.
The Project Chhauni was prepared by Subhasree Mukherjee, a well-known chhau dancer and resident of Mayurbhanj, who has also worked closely with chhau artists and organizers in the past.
The Mayurbhanj District of Odisha State is famous for many a thing, which gives it a prominent place in the discussion of nature, art and culture of India.
Among those many things Mayurbhanj Chhau is one of the most unique art forms which gave Mayurbhanj its worldly identity.
As far as the origin of this style of dance and music is concerned, there are many theories, historical anecdotes, some say it has come from the word ‘Chhatak’ or ‘Chhaii’ and some say it has been derived from the word ‘Chhauni’.
Guru Shri Pagulu Jena is the leader of the group and he belongs to traditional Chhau artist family. Currently he is working as Guru in performing unit and Mayurbhanj Chhau Academy with “Project Chhauni”.
He is recipient of various awards and honour for his valuable work towards the promotion of Chhau dance. He is awarded as an ‘A ‘grade artist of Mayurbhanj Chhau by Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi.
He received junior and senior Fellowships from Government of India. He is recognized as a scholarly expert of Chhau dance of Mayurbhanj by the Centre for Cultural Resource and Training, Ministry of Culture, Government of India. He has given performances and lecture-cum-demonstrations in leading dance festivals of India and abroad.
