# Dance, You and Creativity

## Overview
This chapter explores the expressive use of hip movements in dance, traditional Indian dance-drama forms where male dancers portray female characters, and the transformation of dance traditions through icons like Rabindranath Tagore and Uday Shankar. It concludes with how choreography evolved from stage to screen in Indian cinema.

## Key Topics Covered

### 1. Movements of Hips in Dance
- **Importance**: Hips add rhythm, emotion, and grace to dance movements.
- **Types of Movements**:
- **Twisting** – Seen in *Garbha* dance.
- **Side to Side** – Observed in folk dances like *Kalbelia*.
- **Back and Front** – Found in *Bihu* and *Chhau*.
- **Circular** – Inspired by actions like rotating a hula hoop; *Snake dance* is a good example.
- **Activity**: Observe and replicate hip movements from various Indian dances. Create a dance with characters or animals using suitable hip actions.

### 2. Gender Roles and Role Reversals in Dance
- **Traditional Practices**: Male dancers have historically taken on female roles using costumes or masks.
- **Examples**:
- **Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma** – A male *Kuchipudi* dancer known for portraying female roles.
- **Chhau Dance** – Uses masks for character portrayal.

### 3. Traditional Dance-Drama Forms

#### Bhagavata Mela Natakam (Tamil Nadu)
- **Origin**: Migrated from Andhra to Melattur after the fall of Vijayanagara Empire.
- **Patrons**: Nayaka kings supported it; saints and scholars nurtured the art.
- **Performance Highlight**: *Prahlada Charitam* during Narasimha Jayanti.
- **Notable Figures**: Natesha Iyer, G. Swaminathan, E. Krishna Iyer.
- **Characteristic**: Male dancers often play female roles.

#### Ankiya Bhaona (Assam)
- **Origin**: 15th century CE Vaishnavite tradition started in *namghars* and *sattaras*.
- **Performance Features**: Music, live instruments, Brajaboli songs, masks, Sanskrit benedictions.
- **Cultural Center**: Kamalabari Sattara in Majuli.
- **Costume & Movement**: Character determines costume and hip movement, e.g., side-to-side for women, back-front for peacocks.

### 4. Dance During Nationalist Movement

#### Rabindranath Tagore
- **Contribution**: Founded Vishwabharati University in 1921.
- **Created**: *Rabindra Nritya* — a new vocabulary of dance for women.
- **Innovation**: Integrated classical and folk traditions; encouraged professional female performers.

#### Uday Shankar
- **Known As**: Father of modern Indian dance.
- **Style**: Amalgamation of classical, folk, tribal, and modern forms.
- **Famous Work**: Film *Kalpana* (1948) and collaboration with ballerina Anna Pavlova.
- **Legacy**: Pioneered a uniquely Indian contemporary dance vocabulary.

### 5. Choreography from Stage to Screen
- **Transition**: From traditional stage performances to cinematic expression.
- **Famous Film Examples**:
- *Mughal-e-Azam* (Lacchu Maharaj)
- *Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje* (Gopi Krishna)
- *Kahe Ched Ched Mohe* (Birju Maharaj)
- **Influential Performers**: M.S. Subbulakshmi, South Indian actresses trained in Bharatanatyam.
- **Folk Dance in Films**: Garba and regional forms are widely featured in Indian cinema.

### 6. Creative Dance Activity
- **Task**: Create a group dance by integrating learned hip movements and expressions.
- **Steps**:
- Work in groups of 1 to 4 dancers.
- Create different movement phrases.
- Choose music and rhythm.
- Combine segments into a full composition.
- Add characters and emotions.

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## New Terms and Definitions

| Term | Definition |
|-----------------------|------------|
| Hip Movement | Moving the hips in different directions to show rhythm or emotion in dance. |
| Garbha | A Gujarati folk dance involving twisting movements. |
| Kalbelia | A Rajasthani folk dance with side-to-side hip motions. |
| Chhau | A mask-based dance form from eastern India using back and front hip movements. |
| Bhagavata Mela | A Tamil dance-drama form where men traditionally played female roles. |
| Ankiya Bhaona | A religious Assamese dance-drama performed by male monks with music and masks. |
| Rabindra Nritya | Dance style created by Rabindranath Tagore blending tradition with modern ideas. |
| Uday Shankar Style | A contemporary Indian dance style blending classical, folk, and modern movements. |
| Abhinaya | The art of expression in Indian classical dance. |
| Choreography | The art of designing dance sequences for performance. |


## Practice Questions

### Easy (Level 1)

1. **Which dance form includes twisting hip movements?**
**Answer**: Garbha
**Explanation**: Garbha is a traditional dance that uses twisting hip movements as part of its circular motion.

2. **Who founded Vishwabharati University in 1921?**
**Answer**: Rabindranath Tagore
**Explanation**: He established this institution to promote fine arts and develop new forms like Rabindra Nritya.

3. **What is the key characteristic of Chhau dance?**
**Answer**: Use of masks
**Explanation**: Chhau is known for portraying characters through the use of colorful and expressive masks.

### Medium (Level 2)

4. **Name two traditional dance-drama forms where male dancers often portray female roles.**
**Answer**: Bhagavata Mela and Ankiya Bhaona
**Explanation**: These traditions emerged in Tamil Nadu and Assam respectively and historically featured male artists in female roles.

5. **Which film by Uday Shankar is considered a landmark in Indian dance cinema?**
**Answer**: Kalpana (1948)
**Explanation**: Kalpana showcased Uday Shankar’s choreographic vision blending tradition and innovation.

### Difficult (Level 3)

6. **What is the significance of Narasimha Jayanti in the context of Bhagavata Mela?**
**Answer**: It is when the main performance *Prahlada Charitam* is staged at the Varadaraja Perumal temple.
**Explanation**: This annual festival is central to the Bhagavata Mela tradition.

7. **Which language are the songs in Ankiya Bhaona mostly sung in?**
**Answer**: Brajaboli
**Explanation**: The performance begins with a Sanskrit benediction and continues with Brajaboli songs.

8. **Who helped revive Bhagavata Mela tradition in the 1950s?**
**Answer**: E. Krishna Iyer
**Explanation**: With support from Madras Music Academy, he helped sustain this classical dance-drama art form.

### Very Difficult (Level 4)

9. **Explain how hip movements contribute to character portrayal in Indian dance.**
**Answer**: Hip movements like twisting, side-to-side, and circular actions express emotions, rhythms, or specific traits of animals or human characters.
**Explanation**: For example, a peacock's back-and-forth hip movement conveys elegance, while side-to-side suits playful or feminine roles.

10. **How did Rabindranath Tagore and Uday Shankar contribute differently to Indian dance?**
**Answer**: Tagore institutionalized dance through Rabindra Nritya at Vishwabharati, focusing on women’s participation and literary inspiration. Uday Shankar introduced modern Indian dance by blending classical, folk, tribal and global styles, and brought dance to cinema.
**Explanation**: Their contributions differed in approach—Tagore's was academic and poetic; Uday Shankar’s was experimental and performance-oriented.

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