Folk Dances of India as discussed by Harsh
Natya Veda was created by Lord Brahma as per the story mentioned in Natyashastra of Bharata. Natya is an amalgamation of dance, drama and music. The first formal mentioned of the dance was founded in Natyashastra of Bharat Muni. There are various aspects of dance; Lasya (grace), Tandava (male aspects like movement and rhythm), Nritta (basic dance steps), Natya (dramatic representation) and Nritya (sentiments). The Indian can broadly divide into two forms; Classical dance forms and Folk-dance forms.
The folk dances in India are the result of the long coming traditions from the ages which evolved in different parts of India. The folk-dance forms are generally spontaneous, crude and performed by the masses without any formal training and preparation. However, these arts remained confined to certain sect of people or to a particular locality. There are several famous folk dances prevalent in India.
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Famous Folk Dances of India
Chhau is a traditional mask folk dance which narrate the mythological stories through vigorous martial movements. There are three main styles of Chhau dances in India; Saraikella Chhau in Jharkhand, Mayurbhanj Chhau (performed without mask) in Odisha and Purulia Chhau in West Bengal. Garba is another prominent folk dance of Gujarat which is performed during the Navaratra.
Charba is a popular folk dance of Himachal Pradesh which is performed during the festival of Dussehra. Bhangra is folk dance of Punjab, very energetic in nature and performed by males and Giddha is female counterpart of Bhangra. Raslila which is revolved around the love themes of Radha and Krishna, is a popular folk dance of Uttar Pradesh. Dandiya Raas is another folk dance performed using sticks (dandiyas) represents a mock fight between Durga and Mahishasura.
Ghoomar is a folk dance of women of Bhil tribes of Rajasthan which is characterized by the pirouetting movements of women who wears multi-colored flowing Ghaghara. Kalbelia folk dance performed by the women of Kalbelia community of Rajasthan. The Kalbelia dance was included in the UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010. Dadra is popular among the courtesans of the Lucknow region, is a semi-classical form of dance of Uttar Pradesh.
Paika is another famous folk dance performed in the southern parts of Odisha, which signifies battle. Thang Ta (Thang means sword and Ta means spear) is also an exclusive martial dance form of Manipur. Bihu is performed by both men and women in group, is a popular folk-dance form of Assam. Kummi is popular folk dance of Tamil Nadu and Kerala which is performed by women.
Kolkali-Parichakali is a popular martial dance in the area of southern Kerala and Lakshadweep. Kol means stick and Paricha means shield. Butta Bommalu is a popularly dance form of Andhra Pradesh (Godavari district) which is performed by dancer’s wear masks of different character. Jhoomar is performed during the harvest season in Punjab by the tribal Sikhs. Fugdi is another famous folk dance performed by women during the festivals in the state of Goa.
Apart from these, there are several other folk dances which represents the rich cultural tradition of India.