Cultural Connections Through Dance
Culture connects people beyond boundaries. Our customs, social traditions, regional ideas, and beliefs together shape our culture. People from different cultures can connect and develop mutual respect through shared appreciation of diverse dance traditions.
Dance forms like Dandiya and Bhangra travelled beyond India's borders with the Indian diaspora and are now enjoyed across the world. They are no longer limited to a single community — they have become part of the wider local culture wherever they are performed.
Indian dance forms have also been adopted by international dancers, promoting cross-cultural relations across the globe.
A Dance for Every Situation
Dance reflects human experience — from birth to death, every stage of life in India is celebrated through dance.
| Life Event | Dance Form | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Birth | Badhāī | Madhya Pradesh |
| Birth | Sohar | Bihar |
| Wedding / Procession | Khoriyā | Haryana |
| Wedding / Procession | Chholiyā Nṛitya | Kumaon, Uttarakhand |
| Funeral Rituals | Naṭa-Saṅkīrtana | Manipur (Vaishnavite communities) |
| Wedding / Celebrations | Nāṭī | Himachal Pradesh |
| Year-round Celebration | Jhūmar | Bihar |
Naṭa-Saṅkīrtana of Manipur is unique because it is performed as part of funeral rituals — most other dances celebrate joyful occasions like birth or weddings.
Harvest & Community Dances
- Bārḍo Chham (Arunachal Pradesh) — symbolises the journey between death and rebirth; presented as the victory of good over evil.
- Bihu (Assam) and Hojāgirī (Tripura) — popular harvest festival dances.
- Taraṅgmel (Goa) — a community dance where performers carry colourful flags and move to percussion instruments like the dhol and tāśhā; dancers cry out "ho ho" in unison to stay coordinated.
- Ummattāṭ (Karnataka) — begins with an invocation to the river Kaveri; rooted in harvest festivals.
Rani Machaiah was awarded the Padma Shri in March 2023 for preserving and popularising the Ummattāṭ folk dance of the Koḍava community in Karnataka.
Do not imitate dance forms like Bārḍo Chham or Hojāgirī without a teacher's supervision.
One Story, Many Renditions
Do You Know?
Trade and travel from the eastern shores of Bharat since the 1st century BCE led to major cultural, religious, and linguistic exchanges. The region of Kaliṅga has records of Bāli-yātrā from the 3rd century BCE — a festival marking the start of trade voyages after the monsoons, on Kārtika-Pūrṇimā. Even today, Bāli-jātrā is celebrated in Odisha with vibrant songs and dances.
From the 7th to 14th century CE, a shared movement and performance vocabulary began to emerge across Southeast Asia. The popular dance-theatre tradition of Rāmalīlā, rooted in the Kuśhῑlava traditions, developed into its present form during the 17th century CE and is performed around Dussehra (Vijaya-daśhmī).
The Rāmāyaṇa became a central theme interpreted, retold, and danced across many regions — each adapting the story to its own cultural style, dance language, and local aesthetics.
Rāmāyaṇa Across Southeast Asia
| Region / Country | Local Name | Form of Presentation |
|---|---|---|
| Thailand | Ramakien | Classical masked dance-drama — Khon |
| Java (Indonesia) | Sendratari Rāmāyaṇa | Large-scale dance-drama in open-air theatres |
| Bali (Indonesia) | Kecak | Rhythmic ensemble dance with vocal chanting ("cak-cak") |
| Myanmar | Yama Zatdaw | Performed as a dance-drama |
| Philippines | Singkil | Traditional dance resembling a Rāmāyaṇa segment |
| Laos | Phra Lak Phra Rām | Classical dance-drama adapting the Rāmāyaṇa |
| Cambodia | Reamker | Presented by the Royal Khmer Ballet through classical dance |
One striking example is the figure of Hanumān, whose form appears in sculptures across Southeast Asian regions, each reflecting local styles and artistic traditions — proving how a sculpture captures movement in stillness, and dance captures stillness even in movement.
Exercises With Answers
Q1. Name a dance form that has a global presence. Describe where it is performed and by whom.
Q2. Match the following:
| Column A | Column B |
|---|---|
| i. Dance in funeral rites | b. Naṭa-Saṅkīrtana |
| ii. Dance as a celebration of good harvest | a. Bihu |
| iii. Martial art presented as a dance | d. Mayurbhanj Chhau |
| iv. Dance for community joy and togetherness | c. Garba |
Q3. What is the importance of taking consent from the interviewee as part of the production process of any podcast/interview?
Q4. Match the following:
| Column A | Column B |
|---|---|
| i. Thailand | c. Ramakien |
| ii. Java (Indonesia) | d. Sendratari |
| iii. Bali (Indonesia) | e. Kecak |
| iv. Laos | b. Phra Lak Phra Rām |
| v. Cambodia | a. Reamker |