{"id":15264,"date":"2019-11-12T13:31:55","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T13:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/blog\/?p=15264"},"modified":"2023-08-22T09:38:26","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T09:38:26","slug":"10-dance-forms-of-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Dance Forms of India"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dance forms in India are as diverse as it’s languages. Different dance forms have come forth from various states. Dance in India is more than just body movements. It is more than art and a lot about expression with notes. It is also a way to discipline the self with compassion and devote one\u2019s entire self to God.<\/p>\n

Underneath is a list of some of the most well-known forms of dance in India<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Odissi – Classical Dance of Orissa<\/h2>\n
\"Odissi

Odissi Dance<\/p><\/div>\n

Kavichandra Kalicharan Pattanayak is hugely responsible for the revival of this dance form and for naming it Odissi. Its theoretical origins are in Natya Shastra<\/em>, the ancient Sanskrit text on performing arts. It is related to the ritual dance in northern temples in ancient India. This dance form starts with an invocation called Mangalacharana<\/em> which is then followed by Pushpanjali<\/em>, which is an offering of flowers. This is followed by Bhumi Pranam<\/em>. The sequence followed then is nritta, nritya, natya, and moksha<\/em>. It is now regional dance form of Orissa.<\/p>\n

Origin:<\/strong> Odisha
\nUnique factor:<\/strong> Includes ragas from North as well as South India.
\nKey exponents:<\/strong> Kelucharan Mohapatra, Raghunath Dutta, Deba Prasad Das, Pankaj Charan Das, and Gangadhar Pradhan<\/p>\n

Kathak – A Storytelling Dance Form<\/h2>\n
\"Kathak\"

Kathak Dance<\/p><\/div>\n

Kathak is one of the main types of Indian classical dance. The dancers narrate a Katha (as the word itself says story) through their intricate movements. These stories include Hindu mythological legends, especially ones about the life of Krishna. The three main sections of the dance are an invocation, Nritta, and Nritya. There are three gharanas (schools) of this dance. These are Jaipur gharana, Benaras gharana, and Lucknow gharana.<\/p>\n

Origin:<\/strong> Banaras\/Varanasi
\nUnique factor<\/strong>: Conveyance of stories through the foot, hand and eye movements as well as facial expressions
\nCritical exponents:<\/strong> Bhanuji, Janaki Prasad, Ishwari Prasad, Sitara Devi,  Raja Chakradhar Singh, Shambhu Maharaj, Lachhu Maharaj, and Acchan Maharaj<\/p>\n

Bharatanatyam – The Oldest Dance Form Of India<\/h2>\n
\"Bharatnatyam\"

Bharatanatyam<\/p><\/div>\n

Bharatanatyam is supposedly the oldest form of Indian classical dances and is considered the mother dance to many other forms. Bharatanatyam, the name is formed from two words Bharata<\/em> and Natyam<\/em>. Natyam means dance in Sanskrit, while Bharata is a mnemonic denoting of emotions with melody, and rhythm.<\/p>\n

Origin:<\/strong> Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu
\nUnique factor:<\/strong> All intricate details are codified, analyzed and preserved for perfection
\nPrincipal exponents:<\/strong> Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, Balasarswati, Pandanallur, Mrinalini Sarabhai, Mallika Sarabhai, Padma Subramanyam, Alarmel Valli, Yamini Krishnamurthy, and Anita Ratnam<\/p>\n

Kathakali- The Classical Dance-Drama of Kerala<\/h2>\n
\"Kathakali\"

Kathakali<\/p><\/div>\n

The name Kathakali came into being through the joining of two words, Katha<\/em> (story) and kali<\/em> (Kala\/art). The dance uses Attakatha<\/em> (plays derived from Hindu epics). There are seven fundamental make-up codes to depict different ragas (emotions) which is the major essence of this dance form. <\/p>\n

Origin:<\/strong> Kerala<\/a>
\nUnique factor:<\/strong> Intricate and vivid make-up, unique face masks and costumes
\nPrincipal exponents:<\/strong> Kavungal Chathunni Panicker, Kalamandalam Gopi, Kottakkal Sivaraman, Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, Kalamandalam Krishna Prasad, Kalamandalam Vasu Pisharody, Kalamandalam Kesavan Namboodiri, and Kalanilayam Balakrishnan<\/p>\n

Kuchipudi – A Dance-Drama Performance<\/h2>\n
\"Kuchipudi\"

Kuchipudi<\/p><\/div>\n

Kuchipudi involves remarkable footwork, impressive eye movements, thespian characterization, and energetic narrative. It combines tandava and lasya elements. People take 2-7 years to master this art form<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Origin:<\/strong>  Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh
\nUnique factor:<\/strong> Execution on a brass plate and moving the plate to the accompaniment of Carnatic music
\nCritical exponents:<\/strong> Indrani Bajpai, Raja and Radha Reddy, Yamini Reddy, Kaushalya Reddy, Bhavana Reddy, Lakshmi Narayn Shastri; and Swapana Sundari<\/p>\n

Manipuri – Dance Nurtured In The Mountainous Region Of The Northeast<\/h2>\n
\"Manipuri

Manipuri Dance<\/p><\/div>\n

Earlier, the name of this dance was Jogai (circular movement). The themes included under this dance are Vaishnavism, Ras Lila, Shaktism, Shaivism, and on the sylvan deities called Umang Lai. This dance form is performed at Hindu festivals and special occasions like marriage.<\/p>\n

Origin:<\/strong> Manipur
\nUnique factor:<\/strong> Team performance with unique costumes, major emphasis on upper body movements.
\nKey exponents:<\/strong> Guru Bipin Singh, Darshana Jhaveri, Nayana, Ranjana and Suverna, Charu Mathur and Devyani Chalia<\/p>\n

Mohiniattam\/Mohiniyattam – Dance Form Of The Women Of Kerala<\/h2>\n
\"Mohiniattam\"

Mohiniattam<\/p><\/div>\n

The name of this dance form comes from the word Mohini<\/em> (the female avatar of Vishnu). This dance form has a legend attached to it. Mohiniattam<\/em> is a graceful and feminine form of dance adhering to the Lasya element. It is a solo female dance performed to a Manipravala<\/em> (Malayalam and Sanskrit) song.<\/p>\n

Origin:<\/strong> Kerala
\nUnique factor:<\/strong> 40 different basic movements called Adavukal<\/em>
\nPrincipal exponents:<\/strong> Vallathol Narayana Menon, Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma, Thankamony, Krishna Panicker, Mukundraja, Sunanda Nair; Smitha Rajan, Radha Dutta, Vijayalakshmi, Gopika Varma and Jayaprabha Menon<\/p>\n

Yakshagana – Popular Folk Theatre Forms Of Karnataka<\/h2>\n
\"Yakshagana\"

Yakshagana<\/p><\/div>\n

The word Yakshgana<\/em> means the songs of the Demi-Gods. The performance includes dance and drama with poetic songs led by Bhagavata<\/em>, the chief musician. Male performers play both male and female characters. Most performances of this dance take place between the months of November and May.<\/p>\n

Origin:<\/strong> Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts, in the state of Karnataka and Kasaragod district in Kerala
\nUnique factor:<\/strong> Traditionally impromptu dialogues, making each performance unique
\nPrincipal exponents:<\/strong> Keremane Shivarama Heggade, Dr. Prabhakar Joshi, Hudagodu Chandrahasa<\/p>\n

Sattriya – Classical Dance of Assam<\/h2>\n
\"Sattriya

Sattriya Dance<\/p><\/div>\n

The name Sattriya<\/em> comes from Satra (monastery). This dance has evolved, and now has a well-structured pattern that is transmitted through the Gurukul system. Mati-Akhora<\/em> is the base of this dance form. Sattriya, in its original form, is a male tradition, performed by bhokots (male monks) in monasteries. The main theme of this dance is Krishna and Radha, displaying the passionate emotions that they hold. <\/p>\n

Origin:<\/strong> Assam
\nUnique factor:<\/strong> Distinctive footwork patterns and intricate costumes
\nPrincipal exponents:<\/strong> Indira PP Bora, Maniram Datta Moktar<\/p>\n

Gaudiya Nritya – Bengali Classical Dance Tradition<\/h2>\n
\"Gaudiya

Gaudiya Nritya<\/p><\/div>\n

This is one of the oldest forms of classical Indian dance. Mahua Mukherjee reconstructed this dance form and worked for its revival. This dance has a lot of circular movements. There is a balanced mix of rigid and flexible elements.<\/p>\n

Origin:<\/strong> Gauda\/Gaur, in Bengal.
\nUnique factor:<\/strong> Revived after almost becoming extinct in the 20th<\/sup> century due to lack of patronage
\nKey exponents:<\/strong> Mahua Mukherjee, Arpita Mukherjee, Rachel Priyanka Perris<\/p>\n

These dance forms offer a glimpse of the rich culture and heritage of different parts of India. Dance forms an intrinsic part of the Indian culture. These are just ten dance forms, while India has a treasure of more folk dances along with the classical dances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dance forms in India are as diverse as it’s languages. Different dance forms have come forth from various states. Dance in India is more than just body movements. It is more than art and a lot about expression with notes. It is also a way to discipline the self with compassion and devote one\u2019s entire […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"tags":[136,129],"class_list":["post-15264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-leisure","tag-curated-lists","tag-india"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n10 Dance Forms of India - Wild Voyager<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the rich cultural heritage of India through its 10 traditional dance forms. Immerse yourself in the vibrant rhythms and colorful costumes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 Dance Forms of India - Wild Voyager\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover the rich cultural heritage of India through its 10 traditional dance forms. Immerse yourself in the vibrant rhythms and colorful costumes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wild Voyager\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thewildvoyager\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-11-12T13:31:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-22T09:38:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/kathakali.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"601\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Wild Voyager Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@thewildvoyager\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@thewildvoyager\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"10 Dance Forms of India - Wild Voyager","description":"Discover the rich cultural heritage of India through its 10 traditional dance forms. Immerse yourself in the vibrant rhythms and colorful costumes.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"10 Dance Forms of India - Wild Voyager","og_description":"Discover the rich cultural heritage of India through its 10 traditional dance forms. Immerse yourself in the vibrant rhythms and colorful costumes.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/","og_site_name":"Wild Voyager","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thewildvoyager\/","article_published_time":"2019-11-12T13:31:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-08-22T09:38:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1800,"height":601,"url":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/kathakali.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Wild Voyager Team","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@thewildvoyager","twitter_site":"@thewildvoyager","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/"},"author":{"name":"Wild Voyager Team","@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/#\/schema\/person\/70157977eb18947cde63a05177d0cb63"},"headline":"10 Dance Forms of India","datePublished":"2019-11-12T13:31:55+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-22T09:38:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/"},"wordCount":1147,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/kathakali.jpg","keywords":["curated lists","india"],"articleSection":["Culture Leisure"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/","url":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/","name":"10 Dance Forms of India - Wild Voyager","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/kathakali.jpg","datePublished":"2019-11-12T13:31:55+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-22T09:38:26+00:00","description":"Discover the rich cultural heritage of India through its 10 traditional dance forms. Immerse yourself in the vibrant rhythms and colorful costumes.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/kathakali.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/kathakali.jpg","width":1800,"height":601,"caption":"kathakali"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/10-dance-forms-of-india\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"10 Dance Forms of India"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/","name":"Wild Voyager","description":"Design Your Tour","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/#organization","name":"Wild Voyager Pvt Ltd","alternateName":"Wild Voyager Pvt Ltd","url":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/black-font.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/black-font.png","width":400,"height":200,"caption":"Wild Voyager Pvt Ltd"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thewildvoyager\/","https:\/\/x.com\/thewildvoyager","https:\/\/in.linkedin.com\/company\/wild-voyager"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/#\/schema\/person\/70157977eb18947cde63a05177d0cb63","name":"Wild Voyager Team","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bdb84d43ae7f81329aff17fddcb801a8e6dcb76dd6ef9a9d65bfbdcda8080b03?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bdb84d43ae7f81329aff17fddcb801a8e6dcb76dd6ef9a9d65bfbdcda8080b03?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Wild Voyager Team"},"description":"The content team at Wild Voyager. We are passionate to bring you travel stories and unique experiences from around the world. Spread the love and feel free to share these stories.","url":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/blog\/author\/wild-voyager-team\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15264"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22051,"href":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15264\/revisions\/22051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wildvoyager.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}