Classical Dance of India

Manipuri dance is one of the four great classical dances of India, originating from the Manipur region, hence its name. Manipur has always been known as the "Home of Dance", and dance is an important part of the life of Manipuris and a virtue for women.

Manipuri dance, developed from the beautiful folk dance. According to folklore, in ancient times, Lord Shiva and the goddess of the snowy mountains created a dance and chose a valley area suitable for such a dance, but it was low-lying and drowned in water. So Lord Shiva used his trident to split the mountain and drain the water, filling up the depression and opening up a place for the dance, a place that is today's Manipur. The first dance that Lord Shiva and the snowy mountain goddess danced in Manipur was called the Raiharoba dance. The Raiharoba dance is the original form of Manipuri dance, which is a dance to honor the village god and when it is danced, often the whole village participates in it.

Manipuri dance is a general term for several kinds of dances, belonging to the Manipuri dance are the Bhangar Jalanen dance (quickstep dance), the Gradar Jalanen dance (high-five dance) related to the glorification of the God, the Lakar dance (partner dance), which shows the childhood life of Krishna (the black sky god), and the Tabar Ginghbhi dance (moonlight dance) which is danced on the occasion of the festival of the Water Festival, and so on. The Manipuri dance, which is commonly referred to and is also known all over India, refers to the Ras Lila dance, which is full of eroticism. It is said that around 1700 years ago, a king named Jai Singh came out of Manipur region. Once, he saw the Ras Lila dance in his dream and heard the beautiful music and taught his daughter to learn this dance. From then on, it made this dance to be passed down to the present day.

The Ras Lila Dance also includes the Vasende Ras Dance (Spring Dance), the Gungu Ras Dance (Forest Dance), the Maha Ras Dance (Great Dance), the Nidaiye Ras Dance, and the Dewo Ras Dance. All these dances are dances that show scenes of love and playfulness between Krishna and Gopi (a pastoral tribe) girls. The main characters of the dances are Lata and Krishna.

The Lata and Gopi girls wear a circle skirt called a banig, without pleats, a muslin over the skirt, a sash tied at the waist, a short tight-fitting garment on top, and a muslin scarf and cap on the head. Krishna wears yellow. The color of their costumes, with the dance atmosphere is very coordinated, so that the dance appears more graceful, beautiful and moving. Brahmaputra is the traditional dance of Tamil Nadu in South India, one of the four classical dances of India. Indian scholars believe that this dance originated from the Aryan culture of North India, but has been developed and perfected in South India. The development of the Brahmaputra dance in the south is closely related to the divine slaves in the temples of the south, and legend has it that the immortal Brahmaputra is the progenitor of this dance.

There are different stories about the origin of the Brahmaputra dance, but whichever story is told, it is related to Arjuna. One story says that when Arjuna was living in a foster home, he taught this dance to Utra, a princess of the country of Modesiya (Virat). Later, the dance spread from Virat (today's Jaipur) to all of India; another story says that when Arjuna was in Malege Badenmore, the capital city of the country of Kālānga, he taught it to Jitrangada, the daughter of King Jitravahan (who was later married to Arjuna). So in South India, it is generally believed that Jitrangada later became a divine slave and that she did not go with Arjuna when he returned home. There is also a theory that the dance was developed from the famous Tamil Nadu folk dance, the Gulavinji. The Guravindji were an itinerant hill tribe who moved throughout the state and made their living by palm reading and dancing for sale, and the dance they danced was called the Guravindji dance. The Gulawngi dance is simpler than the Brahmaputra dance, but it is very popular.

The Brahmaputra dance is characterized by mime, in which rich thoughts and feelings, such as war, love, and hatred, are expressed through the movements of various parts of the body. It requires props, and wearing various masks to express different stories is also a feature of this dance. The Brahmaputra dance is generally accompanied by Gernatak music. As soon as the Alleppo is played, the actor puts his feet together and reaches his hands above his head, and then with the sound of the instrument coming from behind the curtain directing the actor's movements, the actor expresses various ideas freely with the movements and expressions of his neck, mouth, eyes, hands and other parts of his body. The Gethakri dance is the most famous dance of Kerala and is one of the four classical dances of India. The Ghatakri is actually a storytelling and unique dance of glorification of God. The great poet Valladore called the Ghatakri dance "the queen of the arts". It combines storytelling, poetry, music, dance, performance and painting. The skillful combination of storytelling, poetry, music, dance, performance and painting is a major feature of the Ghatakri dance.

Ghetakri is usually performed at night during temple festivals, and all the roles in the play are played by men. The performance is mime, but accompanied by percussion instruments. The storyline of the dance is expressed in the form of recited poems. The verses are all in Sanskritized Malayalam and are recited by a man behind the curtain. The postures and gestures of the actor's body have some symbolic meaning. The content of the verses is expressed through the quickness and slowness of the beating of the feet, the various movements of the two hands and the ten fingers and the different movements and expressions of the eyes, nose and lips. The actors only perform and do not speak. Excellent G?ktakori dancers are very proficient in the movements of all parts of the body and performance skills, they can express various thoughts and feelings with just their eyes, and use the speed of eye rotation to express circles, Arabic numerals "8", etc. They perform swans, snakes and monkeys. They can perform the movements of swans, snakes, monkeys and other animals in a very realistic way. They can even perform hatred and anger with half of their face and happiness and joy with the other half.

Facial make-up occupies an important place in the Ghatakri dance. This make-up, which is a special art of painting, the made-up face helps to express the various ideological contents of the dance. They use rice flour boiled into a thick paste, painted on the face, depending on the role, and then coated with five colors such as green, red and yellow, the face of the front character and then painted light green and white; the face of the reverse character painted several layers of pink and white, red around the nose, black around the eyes, wearing a red moustache; the female role in the yellow and reddish base, painted a layer of white.

The ghatkri dance, is generally taken from the two major epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, but it has also been used as a means of political propaganda.

The art of Ghatakri dance is not easily appreciated by the general public, but in Kerala, everyone can appreciate its artistic beauty and Ghatakri dance is performed in all cities and villages. Ketak dance was produced in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, is a famous dance of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, and is also one of the four classical dances of India.

Ketak was originally a caste that specialized in dance and made a living by selling their art, and the dance they performed was called Ketak dance. Ketak dance was originally a kind of court erotic dance, in the feudal empire era, dedicated to the princes and nobles after tea and dinner. It became a dance for everyone.

Ketak dance can be performed by both men and women. The content is mainly to express the love story of Krishna and Lata. Ketak dance actor's feet are tied with many small brass bells, the actor with the change of the drums and issued different sounds, sometimes powerful, complex sound flow; sometimes broken and pleasing to the ear, and melodious. With the drums and music with all parts of the body movements and facial expressions, showing a variety of feelings, so some people say it is performing a variety of physical dance. This kind of intertwining mostly out of the screen and ballroom.