(Info) Khajuraho Dance Festival from 20 to 26 February - 2013

Bundelkhand

Khajuraho Dance Festival from February 20

About Khajuraho Festival of Dances

Khajuraho Festival of Dances is celebrated at a time when the hardness of winter begins to fade and the king of all seasons, spring, takes over. The most colorful and brilliant classical dance forms of india with their roots in the ling and rich cultural traditions across the country, offer a feast for the eyes during a weeklong extravaganza here. Since times immemorials, myriad forms of dance have been adsorbed into the classical dance styles. Watching these performances reveal the age-old trends, trits and nuances that are firmly estabilished in dance in various regions of india.

The aura of these masterpieces has not dimmed over many centiries; nor have the living traditions of these styles lost their fluidity and charm over the long passage of time. Indian traditions of dance have been considered to be divine in origin. In indian mythodilogy, the gods and goddesses are great lovers of music that comproses vocal singing, instrumental music and dance.

Some of the gods are great dancers themselves. Shiva's cosmic dance, the Tandava, Lord Krishna's Rass Leela with the Gopis (female partners), and the legendry beautiful and most skilled dancers known as apsaras, such as Menaka, Urvashi and Rambha, in the celestical court of Lord Indra, the King of Gods, are well versed in the heavenly art of music and dance. These dances of the mind and soul pervade all aspects of life and bring color, joy and gaiety to the festivals and ceremonies of this country.

For ages this etoss has continued in the realm of art and culture of india nad embedded into the diverse dance styles prevalent in various parts of the country. These dances materialize against the backdrop of the glorious temples of Khajuraho, which stand a testimony to the glorious past of India's cultural richness. This temple complex glows with the warmth of sandstone which is ornamented with the sinous curves of sculpture unparalleled in their beauty.

Paying rich tributes to those unnamed and forgotten sculptors, who built these monuments masterpieces, a Hindi poet has reghtly said,

In 'Khajuraho 2012' we present a bouquet of the very best of indian dances for you.

The 39th annual Khajuraho dance festival would begin on February 20.

The weeklong festival would begin with year with Kathak performance by Sharmishtha Mukherjee and party. Later on the opening day Dona Ganguly and Raughnath Das Odissi and Uma Namboodripad will present Bharat Natyam.

The event takes place in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. All dance performances will be presented at the festival after 7 pm, according to a press release.

The second day will be marked by Kathak performance by Tina Tambe, contemporary mix dance by Bridgette Shettiwar and Mom Chatterjee Ganguly and Odissi dance by Sharmila Biswas and party.

On the third day February 22, Anvesha Das will present Bharat Natyam, Poornashri Raut and Lucky Mohanty Odissi group dance and Venkat Vempati and party will present Kuchipudi.

On the fourth day, Bharat Natyam performance by Amrita Bevoor Sen, Kathak group dance by Hemant and Vaishali Panwar, Kuchipudi and Bharat Natyam by Ananda Shankar Jayant, Sneha Magpu, Kritika Varsha and Jinakraj and Kathak group dance by Shama Bhate and party.

On the fifth day of the festival February 24, Gopika Verma will present Bharat Natyam, Sarla Kumar and Perini Shriniwasan Rao Kuchipudi-Perini group dance and A Laxmanaswami and party will present Bharat Natyam.