Chhau dance
Chhau, also spelled Chhou, is a semi classical Indian dance with martial and folk traditions.
[2] The stories enacted by Chhau dancers include those from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the Puranas and other Indian literature.
[3][5] Others link it to the Sanskrit root Chadma (disguise), yet others such as Sitakant Mahapatra suggest it is derived from Chhauni (military camp, armour, stealth) in Odia language.
[5] The dance is performed by male dancers, at night in an open space, called akhada or asar.
The dance is rhythmic and set to traditional folk music, played on the reed pipes mohuri and shehnai.
Bose foregrounds the debate between the relation of lasya and tandava critically in his analysis of dance in Sanskrit texts.
[8][14] The Seraikella Chhau's technique and repertoire were developed by the erstwhile nobility of this region who were both its performers and choreographers, and in the modern era people from all backgrounds dance it.
[8] The Seraikella Chhau is performed with symbolic masks, and the acting establishes the role the actor is playing.
[8] These masks are crafted by potters who make clay images of Hindu gods and goddesses and is primarily sourced from the Purulia district of West Bengal.
[8][15] In 2010, the Chhau dance was inscribed in the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi has established a National Centre for Chhau Dance at Baripada, Odisha.
