Nrityagram is an exceptional dance company, founded by Protima Gauri in Karnataka, which contributes to the revival of the Odissi dance. Developed in the 2nd century BC on the central east coast of India, the Odissi dance was praised for excellency in technique and, foremost, for the devotion performed by the devadâsîs, the servants in the Hindu temples. Banned in the middle of the 20th century, due to many political and social controversies, the dance was almost dead before its revival in a new form by the empowerment of an artistic dimension. Fully dedicated to their art with a complete education including martial arts, meditation, yoga and, of course, dance, the performers develop with strength and modernity the complexity and beauty of this ancestral dance, where devotion rhymes with simplicity, femininity with divinity and dance with excellence. Nrityagram performs regularly across India and the United States and won warm acclaim…