New Delhi, Sep 30 The rich legacy of classical Indian dances will be showcased at a five-day extravaganza in October at the capital's alluring Old Fort, better known as Purana Qila.

The Ananya Festival from Oct 3-7, an annual feature for the past eight years, will be hosted jointly by the government of Delhi, Seher, a cultural platform, and the Sahitya Kala Parishad, a press statement issued by the organisers said Wednesday.

"In a world that is fast turning to Western dance forms and an age where TRPs of reality television are growing, Seher's motto has always been to preserve Indian heritage and culture. The festival, now in its eighth year, is one such attempt to showcase Indian classical dance in its purest form, but packaged for the younger generation," said Seher founder Sanjeev Bhargava.

The festival will begin with an odissi recital by Madhavi Mudgal, who has "created a special choreography" for the event, Bhargava said.

Mudgal said: "We have worked on three distinct pieces - a composition on Orissa's percussion diversity brought out through abstract dance, second, a dance drama from Kalidas' 'Kumarsambhavam', which will highlight the 'natya' or the dramatic element and the third, an invocation of the sacred river Ganga."

Gopika Varma and her troupe will perform mohiniyattam Oct 4.

"We have chosen the theme, 'Sringara', for our performance. It will begin with, 'Choltekku' on Kamadeva, the creator and preserver of 'Sringara', followed by a composition of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal, where the heroine narrates to her friend her experience of first love," she said.

On Oct 5, sisters Monisa and Moumala Nayak of the Jaipur gharana will perform "Nartan", a musical journey that will showcase a variety of music used in kathak during the medieval and modern times.

"Our performance has been divided into three stages - temple period, court period and stage period," the dancers said.

Astad Deboo will perform contemporary fusion dance along with the Pung Cholom drummers of Manipur Oct 6.

Bharatanatyam dancer Rema Shrikant will make her debut in the capital Oct 7.

Entry to the festival will be free. It will held everyday between 7 p. m. and 8.15 p. m.(IANS)