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Dance drama is probably one of the olden day types of dances. Here, dance is combined with drama, music and song sequence. It tells a story or a narrative which is intertwined with dance and music. Dance was a part of the theatre in ancient India, particularly in Dravidian societies. The oldest evidence of this cultural inclination was the discovery of the bronze figure of a dancer from the Indus Valley excavations.
Dance dramas were very famous in the early 1900s. Some of the best dance drama plays have been in Bengali. The contribution of Rabindranath Tagore in developing this style has been quite worthwhile. Tagore’s dance dramas such as Chandalika and Shyama are known for their usage of dances set to beautiful songs to convey humanism. Today, this style is not very evident but it still holds a distinct place in all ardent dance lovers. Bengali dance drama sequences were also used to convey independence and freedom from the oppression and the rule of the British. Dance dramas have always reflected the socio economic and cultural background of a particular era.
Most of the dance drama incorporates love stories, stories of courage and valor, stories of freedom and independence. These stories celebrate the soft side of human by expressing through the medium of dance. Ballet is also another form of dance drama sequence. Ballet lessons are usually offered in some of the popular dance schools of the country. The Bollywood dance sequence has actually emerged from the early style of dance dramas.
Dance dramas not only require a good choreographers and dancers but they also require good stage actors and script writers to incorporate the story in a dance format. Dance dramas are popular across Asia in regions like India, Indonesia, and Bangladesh etc. The masked theatre and dance performance of Bali and Java are known world wide. Indian dances like Kathakali and Bharata Natyam incorporate the dance drama sequence perfectly.
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