The audience was all eyes as yesteryear’s Bollywood heart-throb Madhuri Dixit set the tune of the Men’s Hockey World Cup with her message of “One World” at the inaugural ceremony here on Tuesday.

Madhuri, wearing Swapnil Shinde’s fusion attire, swayed the audience with her articulate moves, graceful expressions and intricate footwork.

The show titled “Earth Song” showcased the diversity of India and how it has welcomed people from various sectors, caste and religion since ages.

Accompanying Madhuri were over 800 dancers from Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) and other educational institutions.

A number of dancers from across the country were also part of the ensemble.

Madhuri began her performance by narrating the rise of Mother Earth and threw light on the identity of people.

It was followed by a segment that focussed on the evil of racial discrimination that still existed in the world.

The show ended with idea of “original people” or the tribals and how they are dear to Earth. “The idea was to connect it with hockey in Odisha where most of players come from the tribal districts,” said Nupur Mahajan, who is the woman behind the show.

The show on “east meets west” took the audience through a journey of Indian classical and western dance forms. Odissi exponent Aruna Mohanty and Shiamak Davar joined hands to choreograph the show.

The inaugural ceremony was a big hit with the audience who lapped up every bit of it. “Everything was so colourful and enigmatic at the same time,” said college student Sonali Mohanty.