Dance ... What is it?

Dance is a medium of communication (a language), it is used effectively to convey some meaning, emotion and cultural values.

Dance is  specialized area of performing arts, demanding a high level of physical preparation and thorough understanding of aesthetics (principles) and their global contexts. In a nut shell dance is an artistic form of non verbal communication.

According to the famous Indian classical dance text Abhinaya Darpana, one of the meaning for the dance is :

"Yato Hastastato Drishtiryato Drishtistato Manaha

Yato Manastato Bhaavo Yato Bhaavastato Rasaha"

Meaning:

" Whither the hand goes, the glance follows,

Whither the glances lead, the mind follows,

Whither the mind goes, there the mood follows,

Whither the mood goes, there is rasa born."

 - Abhinaya Darpana

What some famous people think of dance:

"Dance communicates man’s deepest, highest and most truly spiritual thoughts and emotions far better than words, spoken or written."  - Ted Shawn

"Dance is like wine - it matures with every performance."  -Alarmel Valli

"Dance is not what you see, but what you make others see." -Edgar Degas

A dance performance is rather like going out into a battlefield. You have to hold the attention of as many as five to 10,000 people, a lot of whom do not follow your language”  - Yamini Krishnamurthy

"Education in the art of dance is education of the whole man - his physical, mental and emotional natures are disciplined and nourished simultaneously in dance." - Ted Shawn

The origins of Indian Dance:

The Natya Shastra was created in the beginning of Treta Yug by Brahma on the request of Indra and other Devas as an object of diversion. As the lower castes (Shudras) were not entitled to listen to the four Vedas (Sama, Yajur, Rig and Atharav), Brahma created the Natya Shastra as the fifth Veda which was open to all, irrespective of caste and creed.

Prior to the creation of the Natya Veda, Brahma entered a yogic trance in which he recalled the four Vedas. He drew the recitative (Paathya) from the Rig, songs (Geeta) from the Sama, histrionic representation (Abhinaya) from the Yajur and sentiments (Rasa) from the Atharav.  These aspects are the four main constituents of the Natya Veda.

When the Natya Veda was ready, the Gods expressed their inability to practice it, and Brahma passed it to Bharata Muni and his one hundred sons who were asked to practice it.  The dance was first seen at the Flag Festival of Indra to celebrate the victory of the Devas against the Daanavas.

Indian Classical Dances:

There are mainly seven forms of Indian Classical Dances

Bharatanatyam

Kuchipudi

Kathak

Kathakali

Manipuri

Odissi

Mohiniattam

Bollywood:  click here to download the bollywood dance Cheliya Cheliya

Bollywood dancing is the foundation of every great Indian film. Songs typically comment on the action taking place in the movie, in several ways. Sometimes, a song is worked into the plot, so that a character has a reason to sing; other times, a song is an externalization of a character's thoughts, or presages an event that has not occurred yet in the plot of the movie. In this case, the event is almost always two characters' falling in love. "Songs are a mode of indirect expression whereby characters can articulate thoughts and desires which may be inappropriate to state directly."  

- Tejaswini Ganti, Bollywood: A Guidebook to Popular Hindi Cinema

Folk

Folk dance is a form of dance developed by a group of people that reflects the traditional life of the people of a certain country or region. Folk dancing usually involves a group of happy people following dance instructions from an experienced caller. The dancers perform steps in certain formations, such as a circle or a straight line.

Folk dancing is great exercise and a fun recreational activity for people of all ages. Anyone can learn to folk dance, as no formal dance experience is necessary to be able to learn most of the steps and formations.