When a story is presented in front of the audience with the medium of dance on stage is known as Dance Drama. In ancient times of India, all the Drama includes dialogue, song, music, dance, etc.
It is said to be that many of the Indian Classical Dance forms are Dance Drama that includes all the Natan Kriya which means Nritta (Pure dance), Natya (Drama), and Nritya (Dance Drama).
- Kuchipudi- Kuchipudi Classical dance form originated from the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is a dance- drama and connected with the Indian performing art text Natya Shastra. All the Natan Kriya i.e. Nritta, Nritya and Natya is included in the dance performance of Kuchipudi.
- Kathakali- Kathakali is originated from the Malabar region of Kerala in South India. .Kathakali is derived from two words i.e. Katha and Kali. Katha means story and Kali means drama. Kathakali is a dance drama in which the group of dancers presents their dance according to the character of the story.
- Kathak- Kathak is the most famous Indian Classical Dance form originated from Uttar Pradesh. Literal meaning of Kathak is कथा करने वाला i.e storytelling. These Kathakas communicated mythological stories through music, dance, and songs in temples. This performing art includes ancient mythology and great Indian epics, especially Lord Krishna Leela (life story). Telling stories through drama and dance is the crucial part of the kathak.
Modern Dance Drama is actually evolved from the simulation of the Ballet Dance of western countries. Dance Drama is the theatrical representation of the story with the medium of dance and music.
Difference between Ballet Dance and Dance Drama
Ballet is performed on instrumental music only but Dance Drama is represented mainly on songs and instrumental music is also used according to the requirement of the story
There is no doubt that in India Modern Dance Drama is originated from western Ballet Dance. It has been said that Uday Shankar is the first one who brought Dance Drama to India. After his success in this field, many dancers also get inspired and used their creativity into Dance Drama. Many renowned Classical Dancers have also created Dance Drama and many experiments are still being done in this field.
FAQ’S Related To Dance Drama
What are the stories specially used in dance drama ?
In the modern Dance Drama dance choreographers mainly used depiction from any novel, real-life stories, or inspirational stories but in Indian Classical Dance Drama mainly stories of Radha-Krishna, Shiva-Parvati or stories from Mahabharat, Ramayan, etc.
About the Author: – Neha Khunteta
She is a Kathak Artist and has been associated with it for more than 10 years and the founder of Kathak By Neha the best Kathak dance academy in Jaipur.
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