Odissi treats the human body in terms of the three bhangas along which deflections of the head, torso and hips can take place. The body is divided into two equal halves and the technique is built up on the principle of an unequal division of weight and the shift of weight from one foot to the other. Units of movement of the head, the torso or the hips and the knees are important here. The characteristic feature of this dance style is a hip deflection. The dvibhanga is greatly emphasized here. The tribhanga is one of the most typical poses of Odissi. The tribhanga is achieved by a sharp deflection of the hip from the horizontal Kati sutra, an opposite deflection of the torso and the head deflecting to the same side as the hip. The natavara bhangi in Odissi dancing is the familiar tribhanga of the Indian sculptural tradition.

Foot contacts are similar to those in Bharatanatyam employing both the flat and the toe-heel contacts. The toe touching the ground (kunchita) and  the heel stamping the ground (anchita) foot positions of the Natyasastra are used repeatedly. There is a rare use of the combined toe-heel movement characteristic of Bharatanatyam in the Kuditta mitta sequences. There are extremely complex rhythmic sequences based on the use only of the heel. These movements of the anchita foot known as gothi  in Orissa, are distinctive to that style. Apart from these differences in the manner of the foot contact i.e. the use  of the toe, the use of both heel  and a comparative absence of the toe heel movement, there is also a difference in the methodology of using knees in Odissi dances. On account of the deflection of hip in tribanga position of the knees is outturned and the toes  point. The heels of the both  feet, however, meet. The torso is bent the other side, so that while there is a terseness of the lower half there is a liquid lyrical flow of  the upper body. The torso is used in two sections the upper and the lower. The manner of using the torso gives Odissi a distinctive kinetic style. The three main positions  from which movement emerges in Odissi are first the samapada i.e. the standing equi-balanced equivated erect position without any kind of a suggestion of a frontal bend. The second is the tribhanga. The third and the most important in a way is the Chauka. Here the heels face the centre, the toes point outwards and there is a distance of about two feet between the two heels. The knees are out turned, the thighs are bent. This is akin  to the perfect grand pile of western ballet. The Odissi dancer places the feet flat with the entire sole in contact with the ground. The square is the basic geometrical motif here, and from the square emerge other movements whether they are half circles semi-circles or partial figures of 8.