Article - Beyond Familiarity: Authenticity, Adaptation, and the Odissi Experience - Dr. Rohini Dandavate

Ever since I migrated to the U.S., I have sought to remain rooted in the authenticity and integrity of the Odissi style while finding ways to connect with audiences unfamiliar with its traditions, aesthetics, and cultural contexts. For me, the tension between authenticity and adaptation has never been about choosing one over the other. Rather, it has been a continuing process of understanding what must remain rooted in the tradition and what can evolve so that Odissi can speak meaningfully within the multicultural context of my adopted home.

Authenticity, as I understand it, cannot be static. Odissi itself has evolved through many historical transitions - from temple traditions and Mahari and Gotipua practices to its modern reconstruction and codification. Authenticity, therefore, is not the preservation of a frozen historical moment, but an ongoing relationship with tradition. My challenge has been to translate the form without losing its grammar, integrity, or cultural memory, while making it possible for audiences to encounter Odissi without first needing to understand all that lies behind it.

My experiments in translation began almost a month after my arrival in Ohio. In one of my earliest presentations, for a class of kindergarteners, I quickly learned from these five-year-olds that I needed to begin with stories and images familiar to them. Their response prompted me to think, learn, and discover new ways of presenting Odissi that could create curiosity about a movement language they had never encountered. 

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