Puppet Dance or Puppetry is performed in many parts of Orissa. In Orissa they are mainly referred to as Kandhei or Sakhi Natta. It is a clever assimilation of dance and drama which adapts characters and stories from the mythology. It is a very old performing art.  Puppet making is a typical folk art of Orissa.

Performance—    the dolls are painted bright and dressed meticulously representing the various characters that they will be made to enact. Another specialized form of Puppet Dance form is the Shadow plays. These are categorized into hand puppets, string puppets and rod puppets. More specifically they are known as shadow puppetry, Kathi Kandhei which is Rod puppetry and Gopalila kundhei which is string puppetry.