new delhi a slew of classical dance forms namely kathak mohiniattam odissi and bharatanatyam will be the highlight of the 12th edition of ananya dance festival that begins on wednesday at purana qila the fiveday festival includes classical dances such as kathak from malabika mitras group kolkata and maitreyee paharis group delhi mohiniattam by pallavi krishnan and group kerala odissi by bindu juneja and group bhopal mayurbhanj chau by maitreyee paharis group delhi and bharatanatyam by kiran subramanyam and sandhya kirans group bangalore entry is free according to manjot chawla creative head ananya dance festival the annual dance extravaganza exemplifies the spirit of a culturally vibrant delhi one of the greatest achievements of ananya is to discover budding artistes and establish their indisputable talent the festival has also maintained high standards by featuring established seniors to perform at this annual fest says chawla the festival according to chawla is an attempt to popularize the indian classical arts amongst the youth in the age of reality television our heritage and culture needs to be repackaged innovatively and preserved for the future generations ananya is one such attempt to showcase indian classical dances in their purest form so that the traditional arts would reach out to more and more people of all ages and strata of society says chawla organized by the department of art culture and languages govt of delhi sahitya kala parishad and seher in collaboration with doordarshan the festival is part of delhi govts ongoing series delhi celebrates apart from the performances there are students workshops on october 34 wherein school students can directly interact with dancers and discuss how the creative world of music dance theatre and art can be viable alternative career options the festival also includes pratibimb an interactive seminar on october 56 at the india international centre between the dancers and the audience the festival concludes on october 6