I Bet You’ve Never Heard of This Dance Style

What do you think of when you hear the word dance? Ballet? A tap dancer? Well, believe it or not, there are actually many other forms of dancing, and I’m going to share with you the dance type I myself study. I practice Indian dancing, which connects me to my Indian culture/heritage, because of the traditional moves we are taught. It consists of Bollywood and Bharatanatyam (I don’t expect you to be able to pronounce that.) Bollywood dance is the combination of Bombay (now known as Mumbai) and Hollywood. Basically, it is the type of dance you would see in a Hollywood movie, but the Indian variation. Bharatanatyam is an ancient, traditional portrayal of the Indian culture.

    I like to do Indian dance because it is different than other typical styles of dance. Although in a way, they are a little similar. Think of it this way: Bollywood is almost the same as jazz, or energetic, modern dance. Bharatanatyam is a little more classical, like ballet or contemporary. I think it is better to do Indian dance than regular because pretty much everyone thinks of American modern when they hear the word dance. Also, doing Indian dance is a way for me to learn more about my culture than I would if I didn’t do these dance styles. Bollywood and Bharatanatyam are two fun ways to boost your physical energy, and to learn about the Indian heritage at the same time as letting it live on to this day.

~Shreya

One thought on “I Bet You’ve Never Heard of This Dance Style

  1. Your article was interesting and descriptive. I had already known about Bollywood dancing but it was cool to learn about Bharatanatyam. It’s interesting how you learn more about your culture by doing these dances!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *