'kathaa kahe so kathak' , meaning 'that which tells a Story is Kathak'
The North Indian dance style Kathak is one of India's eight classical dance forms. Kathak, meaning a storyteller were originally the nomadic bards of ancient Northern India which also included Pakistan. Narrating mythological and moral tales from scriptures during those period Kathak, evolved into a much bigger dance form involving influences from the Bhakti era, Mughal Era and from Central Asia. This Classical Dance form is still alive and presently has four Gharanas or schools: Jaipur, Lucknow and Benaras or present day Varanasi and the fourth gharana is Raigarh.
The North Indian dance style Kathak is one of India's eight classical dance forms. Kathak, meaning a storyteller were originally the nomadic bards of ancient Northern India which also included Pakistan. Narrating mythological and moral tales from scriptures during those period Kathak, evolved into a much bigger dance form involving influences from the Bhakti era, Mughal Era and from Central Asia. This Classical Dance form is still alive and presently has four Gharanas or schools: Jaipur, Lucknow and Benaras or present day Varanasi and the fourth gharana is Raigarh.
The above video was taken at he Khajuraho Dance Festival, which is being held for three decades, and is organised every year jointly by the culture department and Ustad Alauddin Khan Sangeet and Kala Academy.
And a little important
P.S. So, have you been to the just concluded Khajuraho Dance Festival whose dates were changed to 1-7 Feb for 2011 and may stay changed for the future.
And a little important
"...For me it was a wonderful experience and the only one of a dance festival. But, I have a word of advice, of course not for the connoisseurs but others of my type who are planning to attend the dance festival to double the worth of their money and time they spend in visiting Khajuraho. If you do not follow classical dance much then you must attend this festival on the days when there are group performances as you can then enjoy their harmonious movements without going into the details of the dance form with which you are not that well versed. But,overall, I can emphatically say that music and dance are such universal expressions of emotion that you just don’t require to understand them really; they automatically find their pathways into your heart and mind to lead you to the ultimate trance."
.....an excerpt from a travelogue - 3 d's at Khajuraho: Dance, Devotion and Deity at Ashoka Holidays.
P.S. So, have you been to the just concluded Khajuraho Dance Festival whose dates were changed to 1-7 Feb for 2011 and may stay changed for the future.
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