Bhangra
<p style="color:#dbdbdb ;padding:20px; border-left:5px solid #7243bc;">Dance in many cultures around the world is considered as an expression of one’s inner soul and represents a multitude of emotions. Hence, it is believed that man has been dancing since the dawn of time. Such profusion of emotions can be witnessed in the dances of ‘the land of five rivers’, Punjab. A large region of North India, its rich culture and tradition can be well depicted in its dances. Bhangra, a popular traditional ‘Lawk Naach’ (Folk Dance) of Punjab, has always been an integral part of the Punjabi lifestyle. Closely associated with the farmers, Bhangra was performed to celebrate the harvest festival of Baisakhi. Few elements of its choreography are reflected from the daily activities of the farmers at work while other movements demonstrate the skills and agility of the dancers. There had been traditional movements from other Lawk Naach such as Jumar, Luddi, Dankara, Dhamaal, Sami and Gidda that have been used over the centuries to enhance Bhangra. However, these traditional forms had lost their popularity and most of their original movements only exist as an element of the traditional Bhangra dance.</p>
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Barn Dance
<p style="color:#dbdbdb ;padding:20px; border-left:5px solid #ddce40;">Since the time of its inception, dances have always been a means for social gatherings and celebrations. However, as centuries passed, some of these dances developed as a narration to the historic events and mythological stories. The basic intention of dance of bringing people together started losing its significance. However, the dance that still holds the honour of living the same intention as it did hundreds of years ago is the Barn Dance. Barn Dancing enables a group, family or community to socialize and celebrate. One can relate the term ‘barn dance’ with family–oriented or community–oriented events, even for those who do not dance. The caller of the dance performs such easy steps for everybody to join in. Today, more often referred to as the country line dancing, the Barn dance involves traditional or folk music where the people dance traditionally in the barn. Let us further discuss about this dance.</p>
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Ballet Dance
<p style="color:#dbdbdb ;padding:20px; border-left:5px solid #b7b7b7;">Imagine a dance performance in which the amount of energy needed to perform is similar to playing two football matches or running approximately 18 miles. Amazing, isn’t it? Such is the Ballet Dance. Originated in Italy, Ballet is a popular technical form of dance and has helped in defining the foundational techniques needed for many other dance genres. The vocabulary of Ballet is based on the French terminology and the dance requires years of rigorous training to learn and master. One unique feature of the Ballet Dance is the Pointe shoes. They are handmade, painted or blocked with glue and then baked to stiffen and strengthen. The very professional Ballet dancers go through 20 pairs of Ballet shoes a week. Also, a Ballet company has four levels of dancers, namely the largest group (corps de ballet), those who lead them and sometimes, dance in smaller parts (corphees), those who dance alone (the soloists) and who dance the lead roles (principals). Let us explore the aspects of the Ballet dance.</p>
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