Silver Jubilee of Konark Dance & Music Festival 2010

The Konark Dance and Music Festival has been organized for the past 24 years(1986) by personal effort of Guru Gangadhar Pradhan, a Padmashree Awardee, cultural and social Activist and founder/director of Konark Natya Mandap situated at Arka Vihar , Konark. This festival has been a pride and dream for various performing artists as the festival has been catering to provide platform for music and dance performances at a higher level since last 24 years continuously and successfully. The festival has brought lot of pride to Orissa and has put Konark on the World cultural map.

It is one of the leading festivals in India and supports as well as embraces art forms and artists from India and across the globe. Till date more than 7,000 performing artists had availed the opportunity to participate in this highly awaited annual international event in Orissa.

The leading exponents and dance enthusiasts of almost all main classical dance forms of India--including Odissi, Bharatanatyam, Manipuri, Kathakali, and Chao--take part in the five-day classical dance carnival much adding to the appeal of the event that has few parallels elsewhere.

A wonderful Crafts Mela is held at the time of the Konark Dance Festival which much adds to the magic of the festival. At the mela, beautiful sculptures and souvenirs made by the expert craftsmen of the region are displayed and sold.