DANDYA

Origin

• Dandiya Raas dance originated as devotional Garba dances
• Created from the history of Gujarat
• associated with scenes of Holi, and lila of Krishna and Radha at Vrindavan.
• also referred to as the sword dance since was performed in the honor of Goddess Durga
• either has to be a group dance with even number of performers or two people

HISTORY

• used to be for educational purposes
• now used to perform for shows,weddings,or for fun
• now associated with best foods and costumes
• has never been banned from public
• in fact, has spread through not just Gujarat, but also India and Pakistan

style

• To perform dance you must have sticks (two per person)
• the women wear traditional dresses such as colorful embroidered choli, ghagra and bandhani dupattas (traditional attire) dazzling with mirror work and heavy jewellery
• Men wear special turbans and kedias, but can range from area to area

QUALITY AND SKILL

dancers do not need to have special physical qualities, but should have proper timing in order to move from spot to spot while banging sticks with partner's at the same time.

Should also understand the rhythm and the beat of the song so they can move at a proper pace along with the other performers.

FOOTPRINT DIAGRAM

Evaluation/Critique

• since Dandiya is a group performance, there are always too many drop off/pick ups
• DISLIKE: can only be performed by an even number of people. If there is an odd number, then someone from the group won't have a partner
• LIKE: how the sticks are banged against one another at a rhythmic pace, creating music while dancing
• dance involves women wearing flawless gowns, to create the beauty of the dance

Done for the fun of it