Dance is an art form. India has many dances, coming from every state in the country, there are many forms of dances like folk dance, bollywood dance, contempary dance, classical dance and rajasthani dance, punjabi dance, gujarati dance and many more. Basically dance is for fun and also use as a meditation. From the very ancient times the classical dance forms of India is considered as a discipline and a way to devote yourself to God through art. It encompasses a huge range of dance forms all over India with unique style,purpose and religion. Here are some forms of Indian dance culture.
1. CLASSICAL DANCE FORMS
Basically there are six classical dance at a national level. These are bharatnatyam, kathak, oddissi, kuchipudi, kathakali, manipuri.
· BHARATNATYAM
Bharatnatyam is the oldest dance form of India which is originated in the temples of Tamil Nadu in South India. It is characterized by their super footworks, graceful moves and expressive story telling and it was performed by both men and women. The dances wear viberant costumes and jewellery. This dance needs years of training to become specialist in hand gestures, facial expression.
· KATHAK
Katak comes from the northen part of the country from the state of Uttar Pradesh. Kathak comes from the word “katha” which means “story”. Basically it is performed in the form of story telling to public by the dancers. So, this dance focuses on ankle movements to match the beats. The dances wear ghungroo while dance. Ghungroo is very important for this dance forms and it was performed by both male and female together.
· ODISSI
This dance form comes from the state of Odissa. The dance is characterized by fluid movements of the body, delicated hand gesture, and rhythmic footworks. Odissi dancers wear viberant costumes, elaborate jewellery, enhancing the visual appeal of the performances.
· KATHAKALI
This is an another form of classical dance which is originated from kerela. The word kathakali means “storyteller”. This form is also used for story telling. Basically this dance form focuses on facial expression only with highly makeup and heavy costumes. This is originated from the tales of Ramayan and Shiva stories. The music which includes only the vocals is called Soppanam.
· KUCHIPUDI
This dance form is originated from the state of Andhra Pradesh and it is vesy tough dance form in India. It was performed by male dancers only in the temple. But, nowadays, there is crazy of kuchipudi for female dancers. Kuchipudi includes both singing and dancing by the performer which requires both the skill and much more dedication than any other art forms in India.
· MANIPURI DANCE
Manipuri dance comes from the state of north-east part Manipur. This dance form is performed to narrate the relationship between Radha and Krishna love, which is basically known as “Rasleela”. The Manipuri dance wear unique costumes, the women dancers are dressed in doll-like Potloi and this dance form is performed in groups. This is very intresting dance form to watch.
2. RAJASTHANI DANCE
Rajasthan, state of Northern India, has a rich culture heritage that include various forms of traditional dances. There are many dance forms in Rajasthan ghoomar, kalbelia, katputli dance and many more.
· GHOOMAR
Ghoomar is the most popular dance form in Rajasthan. It was performed by women. The women wear heavy ghaghra choli, and a heavy jewllery. It was performed by women in evry occasion like holi, teej, and if there was any wedding in Rajasthan then it is specific to perform this dance form. It’s hugely popular in places like Udaipur, Kota, Bundi, and Jodhpur.
· KALBELIA
Kalbelia, a popular folk dance of Rajasthan is popularly known as “Sapera Dance” or the “Snake Charmer Dance”, which is very famous in Jaislmer, Rajathan. This dance form is very beautiful and women wear an angrakhi (a jacket-like garment), odhani (veil), and a black swirling ghagra (long skirt). This dance form is performed in the sums of Jaisalmer, the women dance on brass plates (pital ki thalis), and on heads they put 8-9 pots (mutkas) and brass pitchers (pital ke ghade) on their heads as they dance and twirl with their feet gripping the sides of a glass. Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Barmer, Jalore, Jaipur, and Pushkar are some of the best places to enjoy this dance form.
· KATHPUTALI
Katputli terms comes from the word “kath” means “wood” and “putali” means “doll with no life”. Kathputli is a famous puppet dance form. Kathputli is usually made of mango wood and stuffed with cotton. So this was a performed by a wooden doll made by the person to entertain people. They look so adorable and attractive to attract people. The puppets is attached by the strings or rods. This form of dance is used to tell story by the person himself. Kathputli is not only performed for entertainment purpose but also gave moral lesson, educational purpose, and tells about the culture and traditions.
3. GUJARATI DANCE
In Gujarat, Garba is the famous dance form dedicated to Maa Durga. Basically, this dance form is performed during Navratri festival, people wear colourful attire with jewellery. This dance is also performed in festivals and wedding but mostly it was performed during Navratri, nine nights dedicated to goddess Maa Durga. This dance form performed in groups of people that involves circular formation and rhythmic clapping. Garba is also performed by dandiyas.
4. PUNJABI DANCE
In Punjab, Bhangra is a very famous dance form. It was a highly-energetic dance style where people performed on the loud beats of dhol and also performed on festivals like Baishakhi. This dance style involve vigorous movements, including footworks, hand claps and shoulder shake.
The people wear embroidered Kurta, lungi, pagri, jacket, kaintha , kamarkassa and Turla. This dance form is energetic and enjoyable to perform. People enjoys when the dance on dhol aur Punjabi music and do Bhangra.
5. BOLLYWOOD DANCE
So basically Bollywood dance style is the fusion of all dance forms classical, folk, rajasthani, gujarati etc. Bollywood dance refers to as “Bollywood dance style” or “Bollywood dance fusion”.
It is a popular dance form that is performed in indian cinema. It is viberant and energetic dance style that combines various traditional dance with some fusion like hip-hop, jazz and modern dance. It was performed on Indian weddings. The facial expression is very important for bollywood dance style. In movies people express their feelings by performing this dance style.
The dances wear traditional as well as western attire to look more beautiful and attractive.
This dance is performed by all age groups, it do not require any specific training to perform people can perform this form in weddings and bharat for enjoy.
6. LAVANI DANCE
Lavani dance is originated from the state of Maharashtra. It is the famous dance form of Maharashtra. The Marati people perform lavani on the occasion, events and festivals of Maharashtra. The women wear nauvari sarees and jewellery that includes thushi (necklace), bormaal, pohehaar, zumka (earrings), Ghungru, kamarpatta (a belt at the waist), bangles, sindoor and nose pins (naths) while performing lavani. They usually wear a long red colour bindi on their forehead. It was performed to the beats of dholki. This dance style is also perform on the occasion of Ganpati Visajan.