A Kathak dance recital by Uma Dogra and students
If you have wanderlust and happen to visit India, one of the ‘must-dos’ on your list should be watching a dance performance. Whether Bollywood or classical, we Indians love our dance. A birth, wedding, or in some communities even death, we will find an occasion to shake a leg.
Each state in India has its own special dance form – from the exuberant Bhangra of Punjab to the graceful Odissi of Orissa. While we have more folk dances than we can count, only eight classical dance forms are recognized.
So, for this week’s photo challenge on WordPress, I decided to engage in wanderlust simply by revisiting some of the dance performances I have seen from various states of the country. Each picture here identifies the associated dance form and if that sufficiently piques your interest, you can watch a video on the Indian classical dance forms by clicking here.
A Mohiniyattam dance performance by Navarasa Dance Academy (students of Sushama Gopinath)
A Bharatanatyam performance by Lata Surendra
Jhelum Paranjape, founder of Smitalaya, performs an Odissi dance
A lesser known dance form Yakshagana, strongly associated with Karnataka state
Kathakali, Kerala state’s most well known dance form
Chhau is popular in the states of Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand
Darshana Jhaveri (lady to left) performs a Manipuri dance with another troupe member
Prateesha Suresh performs Sattriya, an Assamese dance that she worked to promote as a classical dance form
Wikipedia has a list of these Indian dance forms and the popular folk dances find a mention here
Even Huffington Post carried a post today with some pictures of Indian dances here
Here is a video to help with the basics of Indian classical dances
11 comments
A great idea for the challenge – such a difficult photo environment – low light and motion. you’ve done a great job!
Thanks for recognizing the effort Tina. I didn’t use the flash and kept the exposure low to avoid the noisy background – there were a whole lot of advertising banners on the stage.
Those still moments captured out of entire legacies of the diverse, rich cultures encapsuled within India are a tribute to the ethos and a celebration of the spirit. It is also a marvelous medium to approach the WP challenge.
Thanks Uma – beautifully put.
that’s a great take on WPC prompt. Rather than writing about destination which most of us do, your post offers fresh perspective on unique dances of India!
Thanks for the appreciation . We have such a rich cultural legacy that when I tried to look up how many folk dances we have, I couldn’t get a number. We have a proverb in Hindi which means every two miles the water changes and every four miles the speech. It’s the same with dances – we have a vast variety here too.
Well said. I wish we can document and create shows to enhance information about these dances and art form.
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Beautiful pics.
An amazing gallery Vibha. I have never watched the Sattriya. The Yakshagana is from my home district, Dakshina Kannada.
Hey, Madhu! I watched both Sattriya and Yakshagana for the first time in Thane. The lady who performed Sattriya, Prateesha Suresh, has personally pushed a lot to get it recognized as a classical dance form.