1. Dance Forms
Prepared
By
Deepak Deepti Ranjan Pattajoshi

3. Introduction
Dance in India comprises the varied styles
of dances in the country. As with other
aspects of Indian culture, different forms of
dances originated in different parts of India,
developed according to the local traditions
and also imbibed elements from other parts
of the country . Sangeet Natak Akademi,
the national academy for performing arts,
recognizes eight distinctive traditional
dances as Indian classical dances, which
might have origin in religious activities of
distant past.

4. Introduction
Folk dances are numerous in number and style,
and vary according to the local tradition of the
respective state, ethnic or geographic regions.
Contemporary dances include refined and
experimental fusions of classical, folk and
Western forms. Dancing traditions of India
have influence not only over the dances in the
whole of South Asia, but on the dancing forms
of South East Asia as well. Dances in Indian
films are often noted for their idiosyncrasies,
and hold a significant presence in popular
culture of the Indian subcontinent.

6. Origin of dance in India
In Hindu mythology, dance is believed to have been
conceived by Brahma. Brahma inspired the
sage Bharata Muni to write the Natya Shastra, a
treatise on performing arts, from which a codified
practice of dance and drama emerged. He
used pathya from theRigveda, abhinaya from
the Yajurveda, geetz from the Samaveda and rasa
from the Atharvaveda to form the Natyaveda The
best-known of Hindu deities—
Shiva, Kali and Krishna—are typically represented
dancing. Shiva's cosmic dance, tandava, Kali's
dance of creation and destruction and Krishna's
dance with the gopikas—Rasa Lila—are popular
motifs in Hindu mythology.

8. Folk dances
• Folk dances and plays in India retain significance
rural areas as the expression of the daily work and
rituals of village communities. These dances have
their roots in religious and seasonal festivals that
have become a background for such celebrations. They
are mostly performed in groups.
• Sanskrit literature of medieval times describes
several forms of group dances such
as Hallisaka, Rasaka, Dand Rasaka and Charchari.
TheNatya Shastra defines group dances of women as
a preliminary dance performed in prelude to a drama.

9. Folk dances
Folk dances can be located according to the
regions of their origin. Every state has its own
folk dance forms like Bedara Vesha, Dollu
Kunitha in Karnataka, Garba, Gagari, Ghodak
hund & Dandiya in Gujarat , Kalbelia,
Ghoomar, Rasiya in Rajasthan, Neyopa, Bacha
Nagma in Jammu and
Kashmir, Bhangra & Giddha in Punjab, Chholi
ya dance in Uttarakhand, Bihu
dance in Assam, Sambalpuri Dance in Western
Odisha and likewise for each state and smaller
regions in it.

11. Classical dance
• Classical dance in India has developed a type of dance-drama that
is a form of a total theater. The dancer acts out a story almost
exclusively through gestures. Most of the classical dances enact
stories from Hindu mythology. Each form represents the culture
and ethos of a particular region or a group of people.
• The criteria for being considered as classical is the style's
adherence to the guidelines laid down in Natyashastra, which
explains the Indian art of acting. The Sangeet Natak
Akademi currently confers classical status on eight Indian
classical dance styles: Bharatanatyam (Tamil
Nadu), Kathak (North
India), Kathakali (Kerala), Kuchipudi (Andhra
Pradesh), Manipuri (Manipur), Mohiniyattam (Kerala), Odissi (
Odisha), and Sattriya (Assam).

13. Kathakali
Kathakali is a highly stylized classical dance-drama
form which originated from Kerala in
the 17th century. This classical dance form is
particularly noticed for dancer's elaborate
costume, towering head gear, billowing skirts,
and long silver nails. Recent developments in
Kathakali over the years include improved
looks, refined gestures and added themes
besides more ornate singing and precise
drumming. Kathakali is performed regularly at
festivals in temples, at cultural shows for
connoisseurs and also at international events,
occasionally in fusion dance experiments.

15. Kathak
Originating from north Indian states, In ancient Indian
temples Brahmin priests used to narrate the stories of
gods and goddesses through dance, they were known
asand the dance came to be known as "kathak".
Kathak traces its origins to the nomadic bards of
ancient northern India, known as Kathaks, or
storytellers. Its form today contains traces of temple
and ritual dances, and the influence of the bhakti
movement. From the 16th century onwards it absorbed
certain features of Persian dance and Central Asian
dance which were imported by the royal courts of
the Mughal era. There are three major schools
or gharanas of Kathak from which performers today
generally draw their lineage: the gharanas
of Benares, Jaipur and Lucknow.

17. Bharatanatyam
Dating back to 1000 BCE, Bharatanatyam is a
classical dance from the South Indian state
of Tamil Nadu, practiced predominantly in
modern times by women. The dance is usually
accompanied by classical Carnatic music. Its
inspirations come from the sculptures of the
ancient temple of Chidambaram. It was codified
and documented as a performing art in the 19th
century by four brothers known as
the Thanjavur Quartet whose musical
compositions for dance form the bulk of the
Bharatanatya repertoire even today.

19. Kuchipudi
Dating back to 2nd century BCE it is a classical dance from
the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is the
name of a village in the Divi Taluka of Krishna district that
borders the Bay of Bengal and also the surname of the
resident Brahmins practicing this traditional dance form, it
acquired the present name. The performance usually
begins with some stage rites, after which each of the
character comes on to the stage and introduces
him/herself with a dharavu to introduce the identity, set
the mood, of the character in the drama. The drama then
begins. The dance is accompanied by song which is
typically Carnatic music. The singer is accompanied
by mridangam, violin, flute and the tambura. Ornaments
worn by the artists are generally made of a light weight
wood called Boorugu.

21. Odissi
Odissi is also known as Orissi, is one of the eight
classical dance forms of India. It originates from the
state of Odisha, in eastern India. It is the oldest
surviving dance form of India on the basis of
archaeological evidences.There are mainly three books
of Odissi. The classic treatise of Indian dance, Natya
Shastra, refers to it as Odra- Magadha . 1st
century BCE bas-reliefs in the hills of Udaygiri
(near Bhubaneswar) testify to its antiquity. It was
suppressed under the British Raj, but has been
reconstructed since India gained independence.

23. Sattriya
Sattriya, or Sattriya Nritya , is one among
eight principal classical Indian dance
traditions. Where as some of the other
traditions have been revived in the recent
past, Sattriya has remained a living
tradition since its creation by the founder of
Vaishnavism inAssam, the great
saint Srimanta Sankardeva, in 15th
century Assam. Sattriya dance performance
at Guwahati Rabindra Bhawan.

28. Thank
you