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Chhau dance

Chhau performing artists

Chhau, also spelled Chhou, is a semi classical Indian dance with martial and folk traditions.[1] It is found in three styles named after the location where they are performed, i.e. the Purulia Chhau of West Bengal, the Seraikella Chhau of Jharkhand and the Mayurbhanj Chhau of Odisha.

The dance ranges from celebrating martial arts, acrobatics and athletics performed in festive themes of a folk dance, to a structured dance with religious themes found in Shaivism, Shaktism and Vaishnavism. The costumes vary between the styles, with Purulia and Serakeilla using masks to identify the character.[2] The stories enacted by Chhau dancers include those from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the Puranas and other Indian literature.[2][3]

The dance is traditionally an all males troupe, regionally celebrated particularly during spring every year, and may be a syncretic dance form that emerged from a fusion of classical Hindu dances and the traditions of ancient regional tribes.[3] The dance brings together people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds in a festive and religious spirit.[2][3]

Mayurbhanj Chhau artists performing to a Vaishnavite theme at Bhubaneswar, Odisha
A video of Chau dance in Purulia, West Bengal
  1. ^ Williams 2004, pp. 83–84, is a semi-classical Indian dance with martial, tribal and folk origins. The other major classical Indian dances are: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Odissi, Manipuri, Satriya, Yaksagana and Bhagavata Mela.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference unescochhau was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c Claus 2003, pp. 109–110.

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