West Bengal, the state, which has given us many of our renowned poets, thinkers, artists, has a rich tradition of folk art. The most prominent Dances included here are Jatra, Brita, Gambhira, Tusu, Santhal, Chhau and the Lathi Dance. They are explained in detail below:
Jatra
Jatra is a form of traditional folk theatre from the eastern region of India, developed from ceremonial functions that are called before starting on a journey. in other words, Jatra is a form of folk drama combining acting, songs and music and dance altogether by the troop that is traveling from one place to another. The Jatra troupes travel from place to place visiting many villages on the occasion of Durga Puja in the month of Ashvin. It has laid roots for the modern Bengali drama culture.
Brita Dance
Brita dance is one of the most important traditional kinds of folk dance, which is basically an invocation dance performed by women of Bengal, who are unable to give birth to children. Only women perform this dance, as a sign of bowing down before god, after they give birth to the children. Thus, they offer their thankfulness to God after their wishes are fulfilled. Quite often, this dance is also performed after a recovery from contagious diseases.
Gambhira Dance
Gambhira Dance is a special type of folk dance that takes place during Chadak festival in the month of March-April. and is popular in North Bengal, especially in Malda district. It is a solo performance whereby the participant wears a mask while performing the same.
Tusu Dance
Tusu is a tribal folk dance, where both men and women perform it in a group. It is popular in Purulia and Medinipur and performed during the harvest festival to celebrate the coming crop.
Santhal Dance
Santhal is a name of a tribal community in North India. The dances of these people are termed as Santhal dances.
Chhau Dance
The Chhau dance of West Bengal has originated from the Purulia distrct and it is a mask dance performed only by the male dancers. It is a mythological dance, as it is mainly based on various episodes of the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Lathi Dance
Lathi dance is a stick dance that is performed during Muharram season by groups, comprising mostly the youths. The Lathi dance is actually half a dance and half a kind of sport.
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