The story
Konark Dance Festival in Konark
Every December, classical dancers perform for five nights at the Konark Natya Mandap, an open-air stage built so the thirteenth-century Sun Temple forms the backdrop. Founded in 1986 by Odissi guru Gangadhar Pradhan and run jointly by Odisha Tourism and the Odissi Research Centre, the festival centers Odissi alongside Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak and other classical forms, staged beneath the floodlit stone chariot wheels of the UNESCO-listed temple.
The Konark Dance Festival takes place each December in front of the thirteenth-century Sun Temple at Konark, Odisha, with performances staged at the Konark Natya Mandap, an open-air venue built to frame the temple as a backdrop.