Young girls getting ready before their dance performance.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Konark Dance &amp; Music Festival 2011 held from February, 19th to 23rd, organized by Konark Natya Mandap. The festival takes place in an open-air auditorium and enlivens the spirit of the sculptures of Konark temple which is just a short distance away.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The objectives of the Konark Natya Mandap are to preserve, promote, and project the rich cultural heritage of Orissa and to infuse cultural awareness in the minds of all. Started with painstaking efforts of internationally renowned Odissi dance teacher Guru Gangadhar Pradhan who unfortunately passed away last year. For more details on the festival see  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.konarknatyamandap.org/&quot;&gt;http://www.konarknatyamandap.org/&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://konarkfestival.com/&quot;&gt;http://konarkfestival.com/&lt;/a&gt;