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IN GUJARAT - LIFE IS A CELEBRATION
Gujarat is a land of festivals. The celebrations of festivals and fairs are accompanied with Music and Dance that breathe the soul fresh with great fervor and joy. Blessed with rich tradition of performing arts, folk dances and variety of dance forms mainly Dandiya Raas and Garba of Gujarat are popular throughout the world.
Dandiya is a mesmerizing poetry of human movements in tune to captivating rhythmic beats, intermittent jingling sound of bells and clattering of sticks, and electrifying flow of colours and light. For those who have centered even once, in the magnetic range of its enticement, it is poetry par excellence. No wonder then, from the tiny interior pockets of rural India, it has reached every corner of the world, apart from divergent ' Garbi Mandaps' of our multi-cultural world; it is virtually conquering every cultural space it is allowed to unwind minds young and olds alike.
Dating back to the ancient era of Lord Krishna who performed Raas Leela with Gopis in the Gokul and later ruling over Dwarika in Gujarat patronized the folk dances. Since then, the tradition of singing and dancing with 'Flute' and other instruments with the dance forms like Garba, Garbi and Raas has been maintained and preserved by the Gujaratis as the heritage in all its glory and they are the most popular dance celebrations in Gujarat. The legendary unique folk dance form also has variations with Dandiya or stick Raas. There are different styles of executing Dandiya steps like Dodhiyu, Simple Five, Simple Seven, Popatiyu, Trikoniya (hand movement which forms an imagery triangle), Lehree, Bey Taali (two claps),Tran Taali (three claps), Butterfly, Hudo and many more. The folk drama popular in Gujarat is known as Bhavai. Other popular folk dances of Gujarat are Tippani, Siddi Dhamal, Manjira dance of Padhar, Dangi dance and local tribal dances.
Performed during Navratri celebrations, a festival of music and dance, these music and dance forms are enjoyed by all communities, all age groups and in all cities in Gujarat. Even people from all over the world come to Gujarat especially to enjoy this traditional and religious festival.
Dandiya is a mesmerizing poetry of human movements in tune to captivating rhythmic beats, intermittent jingling sound of bells and clattering of sticks, and electrifying flow of colours and light. For those who have centered even once, in the magnetic range of its enticement, it is poetry par excellence. No wonder then, from the tiny interior pockets of rural India, it has reached every corner of the world, apart from divergent ' Garbi Mandaps' of our multi-cultural world; it is virtually conquering every cultural space it is allowed to unwind minds young and olds alike.
Dating back to the ancient era of Lord Krishna who performed Raas Leela with Gopis in the Gokul and later ruling over Dwarika in Gujarat patronized the folk dances. Since then, the tradition of singing and dancing with 'Flute' and other instruments with the dance forms like Garba, Garbi and Raas has been maintained and preserved by the Gujaratis as the heritage in all its glory and they are the most popular dance celebrations in Gujarat. The legendary unique folk dance form also has variations with Dandiya or stick Raas. There are different styles of executing Dandiya steps like Dodhiyu, Simple Five, Simple Seven, Popatiyu, Trikoniya (hand movement which forms an imagery triangle), Lehree, Bey Taali (two claps),Tran Taali (three claps), Butterfly, Hudo and many more. The folk drama popular in Gujarat is known as Bhavai. Other popular folk dances of Gujarat are Tippani, Siddi Dhamal, Manjira dance of Padhar, Dangi dance and local tribal dances.
Performed during Navratri celebrations, a festival of music and dance, these music and dance forms are enjoyed by all communities, all age groups and in all cities in Gujarat. Even people from all over the world come to Gujarat especially to enjoy this traditional and religious festival.
