Famous Dance Forms Of Rajasthan

The ‘Pink City’ of Rajasthan or Jaipur is a major tourist destination of the country, which have grand Rajput palaces, forts, cultural ethnicity, princely ambience and amazing colorful markets, scattered everywhere around. The Pink color makes the city look more beautiful and it let the people attracts towards to the perfect combination of the city with color and its traditional beauty. Jaipur embraces a royal past drenched completely in extravagance. All these places are the bookmarks of the erstwhile traditional era, where royalty was once lived with complete power. In the hearts of the Rajasthani people one can feel the essence of the rich and diverse culture of Rajasthan. With the increasing globalization, the people of Jaipur are still attached with their values and rituals that allow them to signify and share the unique fusion which melts with the people in the front.

In terms of dance, Rajasthan is still very traditional.Along with modernity, the heritage of Rajasthan is still alive. Apart from traditional dance, modern dance is also seen here. Jaipur has many pubs and discos to add beauty and rhythm to the Pink City. Famous Bollywood Dance classes are also offered by famous professional dance teachers. Government is also taking steps to promote music and dance in the city. Jawahar Kala Kendra is the only place by the state government where several drama, dance and music activities take place. There are shocking performances by dancers on smashed glasses or by using dance on sharp swords or doing dances on the edge of the glass. The traditional desert culture of Rajasthan has been largely influenced by dances and music. Modernization is to an extent in Jaipur along with the traditional culture. The beats of Westernization and the rhythm of traditional melody show a real amalgamation of the old and the new. The beautiful dance performances require a lot of hard work and practice. The artist wears beautiful jewelry and ornaments, colorful dresses and follows various stunts. Plan a trip to Jaipur and get delighted with the rustic songs and folk dances in the backdrop of Pink City.

 Various Dance forms are:

Ghoomar: It is a community dance performed by the Rajput women. The face of the dancing women is covered by a veil. Acoording to the Rajasthani culture, a bride when received at her husband’s home have to perform Ghoomar. The dance is done in some measured steps and with full inclinations in the body.

Kalbelia: The community of snake charmers or Kalbeliyas perform this opulent form of dance and on their name only this dance is known as Kalbeliya dance. The dancers wear long black skirts decorated with silver ribbons. They dance in circles with full flexibility in the body and with time they increase the trance.

Bhavai: it is among one of the most spectacular dance performances of the state. In this form of dance the veiled women balances up to seven to nine brass pitchers. As they dance by swaying their hands and their feet perched on the edge of the sword or top of a glass.

Kathputli : Kathputli dance of Jaipur is very famous. Puppets made of wood are colored and decorated in the Rajasthani style to make them beautiful and colorful. Puppet shows are displayed in traditional style and the characters vary in several numbers. Traditional musical instruments like ghungroo, Sarangi and ektara shows a real mix of Royal Rajasthan.

Gair : This dance is mainly performed during Holi festival. This dance is performed by both men and women. The dance is done in both the directions clockwise as well as anticlockwise, beating their sticks to produce sound.

Kachi Ghodi: these dances are performed by sitting on horses. Men ride on the decorated horse by holding naked sword in their hands. These dancers move on rhythm to the beating of drums.

Kathak Dance: This dance is performed on single leg and the ankle bells which are worn by the dancers are controlled very skillfully. This dance is performed by both men and women.