Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Artistes from eleven states presented folk and tribal dance which captivated the audience at Hansdhwani auditorium of Ravindra Convention Centre in the city on Thursday evening. It was part of the inaugural three-day national festival of folk and tribal expressions ‘Utkarsh,’ organised by Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi.
The event began with ‘Jabro Dance,’ presented by Northern Arts and Culture Society, Leh and Ladakh. It was presented by Ladakhi women and men performed in almost all their festivals and other celebratory occasions. The dance is a part of the Ladakhi Losar celebration, which they hold on the New Year of the Tibetan festival.
It was followed by dance ‘Sumi War’ of Nagaland, ‘Samay (Deepak)’ of Goa, ‘Singhi Chham,’ of Sikkim , ‘Rai’ of Madhya Pradesh, ‘Vangla,’ of Meghalaya ‘Lavni’ of Maharashtra, ‘Bihu’ of Assam, ‘Singari’ of Odisha, ‘Paika’ of Jharkhand and Tappeta Gullu of Andhra Pradesh. The dance performances won a huge round of applause from the audience. Presented by Yemishe Yeptho and troupe from Dimapur, the ‘Sumi War’ dance is one of the most important cultural dances of the Sümi Naga usually performed during feasts of merit and after a great head-hunting victory recounted from the past.
Presented by artistes from Gangtok, Singhi Chham is a Sikkimese lion dance in which the dancers wear lion costumes to depict the snow lion. It is a Bhutia dance that is supposed to have been introduced in the 18th century by Chador Namgyal, Sikkim's third Chogyal. Rai Dance presented by Padmashri Ram Sahay Pandey and his troupe Bundeli Lok Kala Parishad, Sagar.
