Dance

Dance is a visual form of art through which people express their emotions.

Dance in India is considered as spiritual, as it is a divine form of expression to communicate with the Almighty. Many dance forms are popular in India.

They can be broadly classified as Classical Dance and Folk Dance. Apart from spiritual themes, various literary works of great poets and novelists are also represented through dance.

All Indian Classical Dances strictly follow the guidelines of the Natya Shastra, considered as the Bible of Indian Classical Dance. It follows a set of rules that have been formulated over the years. Various gurus have contributed to its development with their creative innovations

To know more about the various forms of Indian Classical Dances click on the following links:

• Odissi is a devotional dance form, which deals mainly with the devotion of Lord Krishna. To express their emotions, dancers use soft and elegant movements with their head, bust and torso.
• Bharatnatyam is the most sublime and one of the ancient forms of Indian Classical dance.
• Kathakali literally means 'story-play', an intricate dance form, generally dealing with the themes of victory of good over evil. The elaborate make-up and colorful costumes is one of its main features.
• Manipuri was traditionally called jogai, refering to 'circular movement' of the dance form. The ancient scriptures compare it to the motion of the planets around the sun.
• Kathak is a classical dance form of North India and is closely associated with Classical Hindustani Music.

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