Amazing India Blog Know India Better
India is a beautiful country with a lot of beautiful hill stations to visit, specially in North India. There are a lot of places in India where you can Visit with your friends. Also, you can check out the best street foods of different popular cities of India. There are also a lot of popular dance forms of India. Today, we will tell you about some famous dance forms of India.
5 Most Popular Dance Forms of India
1. Odissi
Odissi is a popular dance form of eastern India. It is mainly a dance for women, with postures that are similar to those found in temple sculptures. Odissi is said to be the oldest dance forms of all the classical dance forms that exist till date. It is extremely tough dance form and needs lot of expressions with more than 50 mudras (gestures made by using hand) that are commonly used.
2. Manipuri
Manipuri is a popular dance form which originates from the North Eastern India. This dance form depicts the folk traditions and rituals of the state. Some postures are depicts the life of the Indian God lord Krishna. Manipuri has some expressive and smooth movements which is a bit different from some other dance forms. Both males and females take part in this dance form. Males perform more of the forceful movements while females have more flexible arm and hand movements. In some places Manipuri is accompanied by by narrative chanting and choral singing.
3. Kathak
More popularly known as a dance of love, Kathak originates from North India. Both men and women take part in this dance form. The movements usually include complex footwork with small bells worn around the ankles and stylish gestures adapted from normal body language. This beginning of Kathak actually originated by Kathakas. Kathakas are well known storytellers who used a fusion of dance, song and a drama(or an act). Similar to other dance forms, Kathak began as a temple dance but later was a popular dance in almost every house of a dance lover.
4. Kathakali
Kathakali is a popular dance form of South India from the state of Kerala. Kathakali is also a religious dance form similar to Bharatnatyam. This dance is an inspiration from the epic Ramayana and Shaiva traditions. Kathakali is usually performed by men, even for the roles of females. The makeup and the costumes of Kathakali are very heavy. The faces of the dancers seem to be like they are wearing a painted masks and huge headdresses.
5. Bharatnatyam
Bharatnatyam is a popular dance form of South India from the state of Tamil Nadu. It is said to be originated from Natyashastra which is an ancient treatise writted by the priest Bharata. Bharatnatyam is used to express Hindu stories and devotions and is a temple dance performed by women. After 20th century, this dance started being performed on stage. The movements in this dance form are characterized by bent legs, while feet keep rhythm. In Bharatnatyam, the hands of a dancer may be used in a series of mudras (Symbolic Hand gestures) for telling a story.
Video of dancer Savitha Sastry performing Bharatnatyam
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