Dances of Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan

The Sawai Madhopur dances are adapted from the neighboring districts and the Ghoomar dance for instance originally comes from Udaipur and is prominent during ‘Holy’, the festival of colours occurring on the full moon day of March. Some of the upscale hotels also organize these local dances on specific request. Another attractive feature of these dances is that most of them are interactive in character and guests can join in with the dancers and shake a leg if they choose to. The following are among some of the more prominent folk dance forms in the Sawai Madhopur region.

Ghoomar dance, Rajasthan

Ghoomar dance, Rajasthan

Ghoomar Dance

Ghoomar is a simple form of Rajasthan folk dance where women in colourful attire across ages, using a unique kind of footwork create swaying movements of their body. Synchronizing the steps with the song selected is an important part of this dance. The dancers move in a circular motion with the steps alternating between clockwise and anticlockwise directions.

When the dance reaches its high tempo, it is interesting to see the dancers swirling with great speed. There is no specific time limit set for this dance and it could continue into the twilight hours. In different regions of Rajasthan, the Ghoomar dance follows varying styles influenced by local traditions.

Kalbeliya Dance

The community of snake charmers in Rajasthan is known as Kalbeliiya. In olden days they moved constantly from one place to the other in search of livelihood as well as catching snakes as also trading in snake venom. The dress as well as the movements in Kalbeliya resembles the way a snake moves. In modern times there are fewer dense forests and snakes too have become rare in densely populated areas.

Kalbeliya Dance, Rajasthan

Kalbeliya Dance, Rajasthan

The Kalbeliya dance which is another form of Rajasthani folk dance has thus evolved to be a life supporting activity for the community. The dexterity with which the dancers (mostly women) move their body is a treat to watch but extremely exhausting for the dancers. This form of dance is prominent particularly during the Holi festival celebrated across India and particularly so in Rajasthan.

These dance forms merge beautifully with the vibrant colours that you will also enjoy around Rajasthan, be it the dance, apparels, frescos or the havelis.

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