All Dance related
These costumes worn by the Manipuri Raas Leela dancers are traditional and celebrate the ancient local artistic traditions and merge them with the spiritual ideas that are derived from the love story of Radha-Krishna, as mentioned in the tenth book of Bhagavata Purana.
The Vaishnava Bhakti movement helped the Sattriya dance form to grow. The monks practiced the Sattriya dance-dramas based on the stories of myths and legends of Krishna from the texts of Bhagavata Purana. This dance is not performed in front of any religious idol but is performed in front of a copy of the Bhagavata Purana placed on the eastern side of the dance hall, also known as Manikut of the dance hall.
The fourth dance form that the couple talked about is the Raibense Dance, performed mostly by a group of male dancers, which is a representation of the Bratachari tradition of Bengal. It is an ancient dance form that originated in Bengal and is a reminder of the expertise of the Bengalese in the military field. The word ‘Rai’ means kingly and royal and the word ‘Bense’ comes from ‘bansh’ or bamboo. This dance form consists of the men dancing with bamboo sticks and props and imitating fighting and acrobatics so as to display their control over the art. Seeing this dance form will give the audience an idea about the valour of the ancient people of Bengal. The Kanshi and Dhol are the only instruments used in this dance form. The clanging sound of the Kanshi and the rhythmic beat of the Dhol can generate a sense of courage in the heart of the dancers. The costume is a simple dhoti stripped with red clothing that signifies valour. It was modified to its present form by an ICS, Shri Gurusaday Dutta.
Kasturi Pattanaik was another individual who played a huge role in the development of traditional Odissi dance into a contemporary form. She, with her creations, had left a deep and artistic impact in the minds of the people which affected the growth and evolution of Odissi. Her new concepts, themes and techniques, helped Odissi to develop from its former Mahari, Gotipua to its current form.
The traditional dance form Kuchipudi, which is also the favourite of dance form of Lord Krishna, begins with an invocation, followed by all the dancers introducing themselves with respect to the roles they are playing. After this, they perform a short dance set to a music called ‘Dharavu’ and then present the pure dance performance along with the rhythmic hand gestures for the story. It is one of the most popular dance forms in India and has seen huge growth throughout the years. Kuchipudi is now performed not just in India, but worldwide as well.
She is going to visit a very prestigious Bharatnatyam school there; named Kalai maṟṟum paṭaippāṟṟal (Centre for Art & Creativity). She already had breakfast at Chinamma’s house before leaving. Chinamma cared for her like a mother.
– (Reading Time: 25 min Approx) Sunetra was standing near the Athirapally waterfalls. She thought to herself, there is so much to life when you decide to fight back. Sunetra came to Thrissur this morning. Last night she took a Read more
– (Reading Time: 12 min Approx) Next morning around, 11 o’clock Sunetra got down at Trivandrum Central, railway station. The cool breeze and greenery all around whispered to her ears – “Welcome, Sunetra! Kerala was waiting for you”. She opened Read more
It’s been 2 years now, after the car accident but Sunetra looked at her shelf full of trophies and murmured to herself- “I still dance like a peacock Guruji, maybe in my dreams, but I still do. And I’m going to re-discover Dance – in its unique original art form, as is experienced in its true home, all over India.”
Dance is the medium of expression where mind and body work together. Dance, for me is the way in which one can express oneself. Dance is the vase where each part of body gets space to express. Dance teaches to understand each part of the body, every muscle.