Kathak : Classical dance of North India

This was the first classical dance I was introduced to when I was as young as 5 years old.

ABOUT DANCE FORM AND COSTUME

• With the footwork being the main focus, this
  form of dance will blow your mind and raise your soul with delight.
  

• The dancers wear a kameez(long body fit top which has A-line cut down the waist) which gives a flowing effect. And below the kameez a leg-hugging pant called chudi pant is worn. Both these pieces are made out of silk cloth of rich bright colours and have golden jerry border to add to the rich look.
  

• The head is usually covered with a golden netted shawl and the ends of it are neatly tucked, not interrupting the free movement of hands. There are suttle movements of hands to give a smoothening effect to the dance.
  

• Ghoogaroos The rhythmic sound emanating from the tiny brass bells clustered together elates and gratifies the sense of the audience. It is believed that the ghoongroos help the dancer to establish a connection with mother earth better.
  

• The dance bell in Kathak has also got a holiness attached to it. The dance bells are considered as a sacred accessory which can be worn only after offering it to the Guru (teacher) who blesses it and hands it back to the dancer before any performance. Every dancer will have their own dance bell and do not share it with the any other dancer.

• The interesting fact about this inevitable accessory to the foot - the ghoongaroos is that with every year of learning the dance, the number of bells gets added up by a multiple of 10 or so bells. And a professional dancer wears upto 200 bells on each foot during his/her performance.
  

• Another part of learning kathak dance is to learn to sing rabindro-sangeet. Some basics of classical singing is required to be learnt by each dancer.

• Finally, here is a glimpse of a kathak dance performance by Madhuri Dixit(a professional kathak dancer herself) from her bollywood movie- devdas :
  

Though I couldn't pursue learning this dance form after learning it for 1 year, shifting my stay to south india where I had dance gurus having expertise in bharatnatyam. I love watching the kathak performances live whenever possible and cherish my childhood memory of learning the footwork and tying the bells round my ankles. It gives me goosebumps and blissful joy.

Thanks to steemit for giving me a platform to share about this dance form and refreshing my memory as well.
Cheers