Chhau Dance

Though yet not classified among the classical dances, the three varieties of Chhau as performed nowadays in Mayurbhanji, Purulia and Seraikhela, are drawing upon themselves more and more interest and recognition for the richness and variety of their inspiring vocabulary. Particularly in the Mayurbhanji style, the complexity and intricacy of body movements convey by themselves the frame of the story and the characteristic of the personage depicted.

The alphabet of Chhau dance is not based as much on hand gestures or facial expressions as on co-ordination of movements between the extensions of the legs and the undulations of the upper torso. Reflecting its martial as well as ritual and folk origin this dance form combines both the vitality and lack of sophistication of the folk style as well as the restraint of a classical dance.