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Odissi, a traditional dance form of Orissa, owes its origin to the temple dances of the Devadasis. Based on the popular devotion to Lord Krishna and the verses of the Sanskrit play Geet Govinda, it is a soft, lyrical classical dance which depicts the ambience of Orissa and the philosophy of its most popular deity, Lord Jagannath. Odissi has two major facets : Nritta or non representational dance, in which ornamental patterns are created using body movements in space and time; and Abhinaya, or stylized mime in which symbolic hand gestures and facial expressions are used to interpret a story or theme.

The technique of Odissi includes the repeated use of the tribhangi, or thrice deflected posture, in which the body is bent in three places the head, torso and knee approximating the shape of a helix.