The dance styles of India are mainly divided into three categories - Classical Bha dance, Folk dance and Modern dance. Classical dance is the oldest. The folk dance reflects the customs and traditions of the rural areas of India. Modern dance is a combination of both these dances and western dances. The people of India are very fond of dance art. This love can be gauged from the fact that some dance sequences are definitely seen in every Indian film.
The classical dance of India is famous all over the world. Full details of this art are found in a book called Natya Shastra written by Bharat Mani. In this book, full light has been given on the dance style, dress, duration of the dance and other aspects.
There are four types of classical dance-
(1) Bharata Natyam,
(2) Kathakali,
(3) Kathak and
(4) Manipuri.
In 1958, the Sangeet Natak Akademi has also given the status of classical dances to Kachipudi of Andhra Pradesh and Odissi dances of Orissa.
Bharata Natyam originated in Tamil Nadu. One sequence of this dance lasts for about two hours and is completed in six steps. The dancer displays his gestures through various postures and bhangmas. The famous Bharata Natyam dancers of this century are T. Balasaraswati, Rukmani Devi, Yamini Krishnamurthy and Shantha Rao.
Kathakali originated in Kerala in the 17th century. The purposes of this dance are taken from texts like Ramayana, Shivpuran, Bhagavata Purana, Mahabharata etc. This is a tandav dance. The famous Kathakali dancers of this century are Guru Chandu Panikar, Guru Kunju Kurup, Ramuni and Kalamandalam Krishna Nair.
Kathak dance is from North India and it flourished very much during the Mughal rule. In this dance the love of Krishna-Radha is shown on the banks of Jamuna in the same postures. There are also gopis in the dance. Both men and women participate in this dance. The main artists of Kathak of this century are Shambhu Maharaj, Sundar Prasad, Birju Maharaj, Gopi Krishna, Sitara Devi and Damayanti Joshi.
Manipuri dance belongs to the state of Manipur. It is a slow dance. The main actors of this dance are Atomba Singh and Amubi Singh and the Zaveri sisters.
Different places of India have different folk dances, which are related to the living, profession, caste and religion of the people there. There are many types of folk dances prevalent in our country India.
Indian modern dance is a mixture of dances like drama, opera, ballet etc. These dances are mostly seen in Indian films. Udayshankar ji has made a special contribution in the development of modern dance. Among other artists, Sachin Shankar, Maneka, Ram Gopal, Mrinalini Sarabhai are the main ones.
