For Beginners

Today we are going to learn about some primary rules of Dance and its verifications. Everybody has their own ways to express themselves. For me and some other people...its DANCE. But there are some basic norms that we must keep in mind before starting our journey on this path.

FLEXIBILITY : Our body is the most complicated machine in the world. We need to maintain it properly to get any result which requires physical activity. So to boost up our fitness we should practice warm ups or cardio exercises and yoga, so that our body wouldn't go through any pain during and after dance schedule.

  

warm up

POSTURE : We should learn right postures and movements in dance, otherwise it would be hazy and hard to understand.

                                

warm up

 EXPRESSION : It is the soul of dance, because it narrates our inner emotions. Not only face but also our body is a great outlet of expression.

                                  

dance expression

 DETERMINATION : One shouldn't lose hope after some initial failures. It takes time to achieve success in any field.

contemporary moves

PRACTICE : "Practice makes a man Perfect". So keep on practicing.

dance posture

    

Irrespective of oriental or western, "Dance" is the part of every culture. In India, Classical Gharanas had established their milestone before a long period. India is mostly known for its rich culture,where the contribution of dance is noteworthy. Though dance took birth before a long time but it became noticeable from Mughal Dynasty.  Mughals were very traditional and in every occasion Mughal Samrats used to call dancers to perform in the middle of the court just to be entertained. Those dancers belonged to famous Kathak Gharanas. Not only Kathak, there are many more classical dance forms that were born in the lap of Indian diversity. Each and every corner of India has its own dance form, like Bihu in Assam, Bharatnatyam in Tamil Nadu, Kathakali in Kerala, Kuchipuri in Andhra Pradesh, Odissi in Odisha, Rabindra Nritya in West Bengal, Garba and Dandia in Gujrat, Bhangra in Punjab.

Kathakali

Garva

Bihu

Bhangra

Not only this even the folk and tribal dance forms are also very popular in India like Chounach at Birbhum in West Bengal and many more.

Chounach

 Each of them has their different way of execution, own way of expressing feelings, individual pattern of dressing and accessorize.

Odishi

 Many of the forms are based on Indian myths and legends which are carrying our history within them for many centuries. On the other hand we can include the rising dance forms into the topic that are trying very hard to prove themselves from the late 90s. Bollywood, Contemporary, Hiphop, Jazz, Salsa etc are the most popular western dance forms all over the world.

Contemporary

Hiphop

 Now if we bring them into a comparison to the Classical, may be they are not so traditional or culturally enriched in India, but Indians are nowadays tend to heading towards trendy things which are now in vogue. As a result a cold clash between these two cultures is clearly visible in these days. But as dancers, we have no such limitations or boundaries called western or eastern. Every dance form is like a new thing of interest to us, every dance move is like a way to know ourselves a little bit more. Anyone can dance in his own way. No rules or regulations can bind our feet to groove in a beat. So just enjoy the rhythm...it's all yours.

We have discussed just first few steps and basic divisions of dance. Hope you have enjoyed that.

Hip-Hop

It is an American street dance style which belongs to the Hip-Hop culture. This culture includes not only hip-hop dance but hip-hop music, DJing and graffiti also. This is a freestyle dance, that means it knows no boundaries. It has a wide range of different styles like : Breaking, Locking, Popping, Tutting, Isolations etc. and unlike the studio based dances like : Jazz, Ballet etc. this dance is mainly performed for personal enjoyment.

Hip-Hop

Graffiti

As we know Hip-Hop has no limitation so as a result it has adopted so many styles that creative movements become the signature of it. Pop-Lock-Break are the prime requirements but mixing those moves or inventing something out of the box is also welcome with open arms. Though it is not a studio based dance but tough competitions are still there among the dancers because of the battles and face offs. These are kinds of open challenges where two dancers or two groups call for a duel of dance. The one who gives outstanding performances till the end in front of the viewers is the ultimate winner. To make a benchmark a dancer needs to be more creative and thoughtful about continuously improving his style which ultimately takes the style to a new level.

dance face off

Hip-Hop in public

This style turns to be so famous that it has almost possessed the western commercial and advertisement world. Many Hollywood ( Step Up, StreetDance ) and Bollywood ( ABCD ) movies are produced on the basis of dance. So many reality shows are emerged only to give the extra ordinary but unknown dancers a platform to show their talents. Hip-hoppers are also called b-boys or b-girls, means breaking boys and girls.

b-boy and b-girl

Nowadays we can find some new derivatives of Hip-Hop. Some of them are studio based like : Lyrical hip-hop ( by including some western classical techniques into hip-hop ) , Jazz Funk ( amalgamation of Jazz with hip-hop ) while some are street forms like : Memphis Jookin', Turfing, Krumping. Hip-Hop is a dance of body and soul.

Hip-Hop art

Kathak

India is rich with culture. Especially when it comes to dance, India bears the history of birth of some greatest Classical Dance forms. Kathak is one of them. "Kathak" actually means "kathakar" or "a story teller". This form had been popularized in India from the era of Mughal dynasty. Mughal emperors had a fine taste of dancing, so they used to invite greatest dancers at their courts to be entertained.

Kathak Dance

So the dance is very much influenced by Persian and Central Asian Dance styles. The style is all about sober body movements and grand postures because in those former days a dancer mainly performed it to show respect towards the emperors and the court members. The dance is chiefly divided into three "gharanas" or styles : Jaipur, Lucknow and Varanasi, born in the courts of the Kachwaha Rajput kings, the Nawab of Oudh, and Varanasi respectively. Later the new Raigarh gharana joined the family and distinctively became famous.

Kathak Expression

This style has its own moves, all total different from any other classical genre in India. Vandana (invocation to the God), Thatt, Aamad (entry), Salaami (greeting the audiences), Kavitta, Paran, Gat, Tihai, Tora, Tukra etc. all these are parts of a performance. Bol or Taal (like : dha dhin dhin dha na tin tin na or tig dha dig dig thei tram thei) is the spoken rhythm pattern on which a dancer has to perform. This rhythmic bols are enhanced with the help of Tabla, a musical instrument. A lot of different bols or taals are there like : Tri or Teen taal , Drupad taal, Dadra taal, Kaharba Taal etc. Taal is mainly performed by a rhythmic sound created by thumping the foot on the ground and the rhythm gradually increases or decreases according to the performance . It is a definite matter of extreme practice.

Kathak with Tabla

Acchan Maharaj, Lacchu Maharaj, Shambhu Maharaj, Birju Maharaj (son of Acchan Maharaj) etc. are the masters of these gharanas, and they took the culture to the peak of success and innovativeness.

Lacchu Maharaj

Birju Maharaj

Rabindra Nritya

It is a pure Indian Classical dance form, invented and developed in West Bengal by the famous worldwide known poet Rabindranath Tagore. It is one of the authentic Indian forms which is cherished for a long period of time and till now is being improvised by the great masters of dance and Indian dancers and choreographers.

Rabindra Nritya

The style is very soothing to eyes and very expressive in form. Delicate movements of the body, soft and warm expressions make it more appealing to the audiences. But occasionally it includes aggressive body languages and facial expressions to portrait an infuriated or frustrated character. The dance molds itself according to characters' requirements.

Rabindra Nritya

Nritya Natya Character : Chandalika

 This style was primarily performed in "Raindra Nritya Natya", a kind of play where the story is told by songs and dance performances. Some famous Nritya Natyas are "Chitrangada", "Shyama", "Chandalika"; where basically the heroines are the protagonists.

Chandalika Nritya Natya

Traditionally this dance used to be performed with its own kind of song called "Rabindra Sangeet". The songs are mainly based on Nature, Love, devotion towards God and personal feelings. Nowadays, holding the hand of contemporary dance revolution, this style has been also improved a lot and is amalgamated with various Indian classical styles.

variations of Rabindra Nritya

During the spring time in West Bengal, one can experience the mesmerizing essence of Rabindra Nritya at the spring carnival at Shantiniketan, called "Basanta Utsab". 

Basanta Utsab

The celebration of welcoming Bengal's spring with the warmth of various colors and the rhythm of dancing footsteps with the magic creating songs is really a divine pleasure to any human being. Go with the flow is the prime rule of this genre.

Contemporary Dance

It is a very new and modern type of dance style which is developed more or less at the late twentieth century. Contemporary dance is an utmost combination of techniques and emotions altogether.

dance expressions

Unlike some of western dance forms (like: hip hop, break dance, locking and popping, samba) where personal enjoyment is the prime factor, here the focus lies on telling a story through the body and facial expressions. Contemporary Dance sometimes borrows some of its parts from western classical forms like : Ballet, Jazz etc. The foot pointing, stretching of muscles are kind of common factors between them.

Contemporary Dance

It is a very flexible dance style which adopts creative moves very well. Music is the main key of this form because it serves as a backdrop to the performance. Music sets the mood of the dance which is narrated by the body and face. Compositions and dresses also play vital roles; all of them give it a perfection altogether.

Duet contemporary

Contemporary Dance is all about body balance. The body needs to stretch and bend to extreme points for which a dancer should have a tight core, controlled legs, strong but flexible limbs and torso. For a beginner, body warm up is the first and foremost thing to be an advanced dancer. Anyone can start a regular 30 minutes exercise regime which includes free hand exercises, splits, stretching and bending.

dance step

warm up exercises

To be a perfect contemporary dancer all that one needs to do regularly are : warm ups and lots and lots of practice.

Tutting

It is a sub-genre of Popping. This is mainly an upper body based dance style which mostly includes our chest and arm portions. We basically use this style to enhance and to add a bit variation to our popping. The parts that are involved in this style are : shoulder,arm,hand,wrist and fingers.

Hand tutting

Technique : The basic purpose of this form is to create box like shapes or angular shapes with the help of above mentioned body parts. We create such by creating 90° and 45° angles with them. We can make different kind of shapes, alphabetical figures and digits with this techniques.

Finger Tutting (shapes)

Finger Tutting (digits)

Variations : Tutting is basically of two types- Finger Tutting,in which fingers and wrists are chiefly involved, and the next is Hand Tutting, where the rest is used, like arms and hands. The former is the narrower version of the later one.

Finger Tutting

History : In ancient Egyptian pyramid art sculpture we can see characters with some puppet like poses. Tutting is a kind of imitation of those sculptures with a slight twist. The name itself is a reference to King Tut. Finger Tutting is an improvised version of Hand Tutting.

Egyptian Art

Nowadays this form is widely used in various western dance styles. It has very jolly moves , sometimes includes popping and jerking. Not only hands and fingers even other upper body parts or even legs can be used to make it more funny and creative.

Creative Tuts

Create your own style with it, keep practicing and have fun :)

Classical Vs Western

Irrespective of oriental or western, "Dance" is the part of every culture. In India, Classical Gharanas had established their milestone before a long period. India is mostly known for its rich culture,where the contribution of dance is noteworthy. Though dance took birth before a long time but it became noticeable from Mughal Dynasty.  Mughals were very traditional and in every occasion Mughal Samrats used to call dancers to perform in the middle of the court just to be entertained. Those dancers belonged to famous Kathak Gharanas. Not only Kathak, there are many more classical dance forms that were born in the lap of Indian diversity. Each and every corner of India has its own dance form, like Bihu in Assam, Bharatnatyam in Tamil Nadu, Kathakali in Kerala, Kuchipuri in Andhra Pradesh, Odissi in Odisha, Rabindra Nritya in West Bengal, Garba and Dandia in Gujrat, Bhangra in Punjab.

Kathakali

Garva

Bihu

Bhangra

Not only this even the folk and tribal dance forms are also very popular in India like Chounach at Birbhum in West Bengal and many more.

Chounach

 Each of them has their different way of execution, own way of expressing feelings, individual pattern of dressing and accessorize.

Odishi

 Many of the forms are based on Indian myths and legends which are carrying our history within them for many centuries. On the other hand we can include the rising dance forms into the topic that are trying very hard to prove themselves from the late 90s. Bollywood, Contemporary, Hiphop, Jazz, Salsa etc are the most popular western dance forms all over the world.

Contemporary

Hiphop

 Now if we bring them into a comparison to the Classical, may be they are not so traditional or culturally enriched in India, but Indians are nowadays tend to heading towards trendy things which are now in vogue. As a result a cold clash between these two cultures is clearly visible in these days. But as dancers, we have no such limitations or boundaries called western or eastern. Every dance form is like a new thing of interest to us, every dance move is like a way to know ourselves a little bit more. Anyone can dance in his own way. No rules or regulations can bind our feet to groove in a beat. So just enjoy the rhythm...it's all yours.