Khajuraho Dance Festival

  

                              Khajuraho Dance Festival

Khajuraho Dance Festival is one of the most splendid shows among the Indian Dance Festivals. The dance festival is organised against impressive backdrop of marvelously decorated western group of temple of Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh. The festival is held by Eicher and Madhya Pradesh Kala Parishad, which aims at promoting cultural heritage of Khajuraho in particular and the whole country in general. In addition to that the festival intends to make the recent culture relevant to the society and preserve the heritage for the later generations. The festival is held every spring in order to celebrate the glory of the temples of the region.

                                  

The land of famous temples with beautiful creation was once the religious capital of Chandela dynasty. The dynasty was one of the powerful Rajput dynasties of Central India. The enchanting temples are associated with legendary dance festival. Khajuraho Dance Festival is the podium for intermingling of the varied dancing styles and forms of the country. This cultural festival aims at emphasising the richness of the Indian classical dance styles such as Kathak, Bharathanatyam, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Manipuri and Kathakali. The celebration of Indian classical dance and music takes place in the milieu of the elegant temples, as most of these dance forms are believed to have basically originated in the Hindu temples.

Performance in the Kathakali Dance

 Kathakali Dance performance is a major social event. They generally start at dusk and go through out the night. Kathakali is usually performed only by men. Female characters are portrayed by men dressed in women’s costume. However, in recent years, women have started to become Kathakali dancers. Kathakali performance mostly takes place on a temple premises or at the house of a local landlord. The Kathakali tradition dates back to the 17th century.

Like all other dance forms Kathakali has also undergone changes over the time. In Kathakali emphasis is given more on “Aharya Abhinaya”, the use of costumes, ornaments and facial make-up. It is interesting to note that Kathakali is the only Indian dance form in which the entire body, both skeleton and muscles, down to even the smallest facial muscle are used to portray emotion. When Kathakali dance is being performed the text of the drama or the story is sung for the dancer and is the baseline for his or her interpretation.

Karma Folk Dance

Karma Dance is an important folk dance of Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh has a rich tradition of songs and dance. The tribal population of the state indulge themselves in a lot of traditional performances and enjoys their leisure time singing and dancing. The songs and dances form an important event of the number of fairs and festivals that are held in Madhya Pradesh. The performing arts of Madhya Pradesh are wholly traditional and are not influenced by outside traditions and cultures. They are authentic of the tribal tradition and culture of the people residing in the state. These performances still bear the charm and essence of the old tradition.

Karma dance is practiced by many aboriginal tribes like Gond tribe and Oraon tribe who mainly live in the north western part of Madhya Pradesh. These tribes also have their own form of dances many of which are not as primitive as are thought to be. Interestingly, Karma dance has many forms that are performed by many traditional tribes throughout India. In other parts of India it is also popularly known as Karma Naachis. It is performed by the tribes of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Odisha and other regions of the country. It is performed during the autumnal festival of Karma Puja. The tribal group performs this folk dance in front of Karam tree that signifies the Karam Devta, the God of Fate. The tribes believe that worshipping Karam Devta brings prosperity.

It is performed in a group. Both male and female dancers participate in this dance. The dance is practiced around the trees set up in the villages. The dance is an amalgamation of various enthusiastic steps. The dancers make two rows facing each other. The male leap forward whereas the female bend low to the ground. Together they move their feet to and fro in a perfect rhythm.

Along with the dance, the musicians play a type of drum called a ‘timki' which they place on the ground between them. The dance is graceful to observe and is performed with measured steps. The dance usually continues all through the night and is watched by scores of spectators who gather from many miles to attend the occasion. While dancing, the performers of one row sing love-songs which are then repeated by the performers of other rows.

Karma Dance, Madhya Pradesh is mainly performed by the people who belong to the Gond tribe and Oraon tribe. These tribes reside in the north western part of Madhya Pradesh.. At the onset and the end of the rainy seasons the Karma Dance, Madhya Pradesh is performed. Although the full swing of the Karma Dance in Madhya Pradesh in India can be experienced in the month of August. The dance symbolizes the start of spring. The dance is mainly performed around the trees set in the villages.

Men and women both enthusiastically take part in this dance. The men and the women perform in various ways and the whole performance looks awesome. The men in the troupe leap forward whereas the women in the troupe bend low to the ground. The performers move their feet to and fro in perfect rhythm. Karma Dance of Madhya Pradesh is common to many ethnic groups of India. It is said that the Karma Dance, Madhya Pradesh is the oldest tribal dance among all tribal dances.

The instruments accompanied for the music during the Karma dance, Madhya Pradesh comprises of Thumki, the Payri, the Chhalla and Jhumki. There are many sub varieties of the Karma Dance which are as follows, The Sirki, the Jhumar, the Ghatwar, the Ektaria, the Pendehar, the Dohoari, the Lahaki and the Tegwani.This traditional dance is preformed specially during the Karma Festival held as per the Hindu month of Bhadrapada(August).