Spiritual, Sensual Odyssey With an Odissi Master

Odissi is one of the oldest of India’s classical dance idioms, but it suffered a long decline and was rehabilitated only about a half-century ago, when the study of ancient texts, temple carvings and other historical evidence helped put it back on its artistic pedestal.

Central to its renewal has been Kelucharan Mohapatra, the revered, 74-year-old Odissi scholar, dancer, choreographer and teacher who appeared at the Japan America Theatre on Sunday in an uneven but often brilliant program that also featured his son and three senior disciples.

Native to the eastern state of Orissa, the Odissi idiom is deeply devotional but also unabashedly erotic--reason enough why it didn’t exactly flourish under the British occupation. But Mohapatra’s two extended narrative solos on Sunday emphasized feelings of desire far less than the prosaic minutiae of love relationships: adorning oneself to meet the beloved in the first solo, rearranging one’s coiffure in the aftermath of lovemaking in the second solo.

Putting on an imaginary sari, stepping on an imaginary thorn, running fingers through cascades of imaginary hair--out of gestural images such as these Mohapatra conjured up vibrant and often witty genre scenes. Highly specific facial acting (including choreographed eye motion) and occasional passages of conventional dancing (the rhythmic stomp of bare feet and the shimmer of ankle bells) added layer upon layer of technical complexity.

But, essentially, Mohapatra’s taut, expressive body sculpture told the story of these dances, and the flow of movement through his body connected all the ravishing details. Unfortunately, this mastery of body sculpture and flow were exactly the qualities missing in the performances by his son, Ratikant Mohapatra.

In an invocational opening solo and as the troubled hero Arjuna in a static “Bhagavad-Gita” duet opposite the commanding Daksha Mashruwala, the younger Mohapatra revealed meticulous training and considerable refinement as an actor, but no great aptitude for supple Odissi physicality. Perhaps in time . . .

Two formal trios showcased the elegance of Mashruwala, Debi Basu and Anandi Ramchandran (disciples collectively billed as Sanyuktam). However, the depiction of the goddess Durga deepened from an artful array of temple-dancer poses and balances into impressive statements of divine power, with all three women moving as one larger-than-life sculptural unit.

The proficiency and stamina of musicians Bijay Jena and Ramesh Chandra Das proved an essential component of the three-hour program, presented by the Irvine-based Arpana Foundation.