Here’s how a garage-turned-studio sways to the rhythm of Odissi dance

Dance students participate in an Odissi dance lesson under the tutelage of acclaimed dancer Madhumita Raut inside a garage-turned-studio in New Delhi. (AFP)

Updated on: Nov 25, 2016 7:20 PM IST

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Dance students participate in an Odissi dance lesson under the tutelage of acclaimed dancer Madhumita Raut inside a garage-turned-studio in New Delhi. (AFP)

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Students elegantly curve their hands before breaking into synchronised footwork at a class in New Delhi, where growing numbers are signing up for Indian traditional dance classes rooted in Hindu mythology. (AFP)

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Class participants range from pre-teens to surgeons and marketing managers -- but they have all chosen to learn traditional Indian dance, which emerged from the country's temples centuries ago, over western options such as ballet, jazz and hip hop. (AFP)

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The tradition of Odissi originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha. (AFP)

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A students seek blessings of their seniors at an Odissi dance lesson inside a garage-turned-studio in New Delhi. Belonging to the Vaishnava (Vishnu) tradition, it can be adapted to traditions of Shiva, Surya and Hindu goddesses (Shakti). (AFP)

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Dance student Priyanka Venkateswaran (36) participates in a lesson. Odissi is primarily performed by women but male dancers also feature. (AFP)

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Dance student Sangamitra Nath (27) watches an Odissi dance lesson. (AFP)

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Odissi traces its theoretical foundations to the ancient Sanskrit text Natya Shastra. (AFP)

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(L-R) Students Priyanka Venkateswaran (36), Ankita Nayak (16) and Rujuta Pandav (33) participate in an Odissi dance lesson in New Delhi. Its basic dance motif is the bhangas (symmetric body bends, stance). (AFP)

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Acclaimed dancer Madhumita Raut watches students practice during a lesson. Natya Shastra is attributed to the ancient scholar Bharata Muni. (AFP)