Details

Themed – Riyaz

Pratibimba

By Mayurbhanj Chhau Performing Unit

Guided by Shama Bhate

Indian Route – Discovering India through its Folk Art

By Vaishali Sagar & Troupe

Guided by Prashant Baflekar

An NCPA Presentation

Lok Gatha is a platform created by the NCPA to help promote and preserve tribal and folk traditions and rituals. Just like classical dances, folk dance forms require training from a young age in order to achieve perfection and expertise. While dancing in groups, the folk artistes undergo rigorous rehearsals and riyaaz in order to sync with their fellow troupe dancers. For its presentation this year, the Mayurbhanj Chhau Performing Unit from Balipatna, Orissa, will take the stage. Under the guidance of Kathak exponent Shama Bhate who has extensively worked with chhau dancers for many years, the presentation will show stories of Shiva and Hanuman performed by the group in chhau and Kathak. The evening will also feature folk dances by Mumbai-based folk artiste Vaishali Sagar along with her troupe. Tera taali from Rajasthan is performed by women belonging to the Kamara community. The dancer strikes on the cymbals tied to the different parts of her body to the beats of the accompanying song. In Hojagiri, from Tripura, women dance while balancing a bottle on the head and earthen lamp in the hand, while only the lower half of the body is moved. In dangi nritya, men and women join hands forming a chain or shrinkala making serpentine movements with one of them leading. The movements are very fast, swift and create various choreographic patterns in the fraction of a second. Gudum baja from Madhya Pradesh is a tribal dance in which dancers play gudum along with shehnai, manjira, timki, dhafla and ghungroo.

Box Office: 26th December for Members & 29th December for Public