Dancing is the best way to burn calories and learn new aspects of life through it, as it endures much beyond than just being a ?hobby?. It manifests into the world the diversity in culture. It?s reflected in the variety of Indian folk dances.

WITH THE festive season on the roll and sounds of mirth and joy echoing in the surrounding, the heart brims with the utmost happiness. Joi de vivre is thus celebrated in one’s own way in his life. Doesn’t the sound of ‘ding lak lak’, of the conventional Indian dholes instinctively lead to the reflex movement of hunching of shoulders? Do not we experience the autonomous motion of the foot listening with the sound of any popular Bollywood number? The actions such produced by the body in the outflow of emotions is thereby termed as ‘dance’.

 
According to the ancient mythology, when the world had become steeped in greed and desire, in jealousy and anger, in pleasure and pain, Brahma, the Supreme One was asked by the people to create an amusement, which could be seen and heard by all, for the scriptures learned and ambiguous, were not enjoyed by the masses. Thus, dancing manifested into the world the diversity in culture and tradition is reflected in the variety of Indian folk dances.
 

The land of the Hindu gods and of the Buddha, of mystics and militants, of Mughals and Sikhs, here are spectacles of dances that fascinate and enchant forms as practiced today. It has captured global attention sensitising the Indianness in all the cultural vistas of the world.
 
With the continuous evolution of the dance into different genres it took a different shape altogether. In India, the development of dance is evident in the form of Indian folk dance, Indian classical dance and the evolved modern form of dance. Modern dance has a relatively short history. Since the perception of ’modern’ or ’contemporary’ can vary from dancer to dancer, this dance form cannot be defined as easily as the classical dance styles of India. It is basically a combination of Chhau , classical dances and contemporary dance. Whereas in other part of the world the western dance culture continued to evolve like Jazz, Ballet, Ballroom dances like Waltz , Tango , Foxtrot, Latin , Mambo , Merengue, Break dance, Cha-cha, Jive, Tango, Paso, Doble.
 
Dancing expanded in its manifold nature into different branches. No matter how the style and technique of one form differs from the other but at the cease the underlying motive and the purpose of dance remains the same – that of enjoyment.
 
The movement in our body is natural; the force that gets us where we want, doing what we want. As experienced by the learners, in a nutshell, dance is meditation! It is possible to gain direct access to our own enlightened qualities: peace, love, openness, understanding, energy and joy. Through the modem of dance the body attempts to forge a relation with the inner self who is knowingly the focal of mediation the connection with the inner self. Dance and meditation come together in the experience of absolute spontaneity! When we are completely in tune with the music, not a thought in our mind,and no idea where the next beat will take us, then we are in touch with our own spontaneous perfection. Such a dance leads us to a spiritual path to enlightenment.
 
Even though in the mythology, dance seemingly evolved from India but it has failed to cope up with its fast paced growth. People were not introduced with these forms of dance .In the era of globalisation and liberalization, when the economies are at the exchanging end then why not art and culture perceive to follow the same notion? Can it be called the ignorance of the people, who are yet bound to the norms of conservatism prevalent? The situation is full of ambiguity and the answer is held up in the shady domain.
 
However in past few years the knowledge has significantly broadened. We see Ballet, Hip-hop, Salsa, Contemporary, Lyrical Jazz, Jive and likewise many other forms being enthusiastically learnt and taught in India. Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore rank as the top three of the cities in India. Dancing is no more considered as hobby but the number of people taking up dancing professionally has risen up with elaboration of mental faculties. It is seen as a lucrative career.
 
Dance as a career has a lot to offer like any other industry. Once trained in any form, there are a plethora of options available like that of a performer, teacher and choreographer. There are many other types of jobs related to dance in areas such as costume, technical aspects of theatre, journalism, therapy and notation.
 
So why wait, put on your dancing shoes and get ready for a rhapsodic experience!