'' INDIA'S PROFESSOR RITHA DEVI : 1924 -2017 ''

Professor Ritha Devi, -a performer and teacher who presented Indian classical dance to American audiences with poetic beauty, died on Sept 12, in Pune, India. She was 92.

A nephew, Reet Das, said the cause was complications of a stroke she suffered on July 30.. She lived in Pune.

Ms. Devi specialized in Odissi, a form of dance that originated about 2,000 years ago in the ancient temples of Orissa [now Odisha], a state in eastern India.

Through supple torso movements and flowing arm gestures, each dance tells a mythical story or conveys a spiritual message from Hindu religious texts.

By the 1940s and 50s, Odissi had fallen out of favor in India. But Ms. Devi who began studying in 1964, helped revive it through worldwide tours in the 1970s and as a-

Professor in New York University's dance department from 1972 to 1982.

Odissi is a reminiscent of the images of  female dancers that are carved into the friezes of Hindu Temples. The upper half of the body articulates precise movements that allow for interpretation-

While the lower half maintains any of the five statuelike stances.

The costumes consist of a headdress, called a tahia; lots of silver jewelry; dozens of tiny bells on each foot; and vibrant silk or cotton dresses with elaborate thread work

Ms. Devi was a consummate actress, conveying emotions through every part of her body, be it flexing of a toe or the swooping of an arm.

Even her face seemed to dance; her lips, brows and gaze all helped tell the story.

The world lost an artist and a spring of joy, for ever.