Introduction: –

Khajuraho is a dance festival that celebrates the rich culture and heritage of India. It is a celebration of traditional dance forms against UNESCO world heritage sites. The cultural presentation is an interesting aspect of art and traditions that are expressed through dance.

Khajuraho dance festival is a delightful event that celebrates rich culture and heritage.  This is the perfect blend of classical music, dance and other art forms. The main aim is to keep the culture alive and it is organized every year in collaboration with Madhya Pradesh kala parishad at Khajuraho temples. This festival is celebrated for over 7 days. At the beginning of this festival, artists from all over the world come to perform and showcase different dance forms. This dance event is the perfect showcase of traditions and cultural heritage.

Many tourists from domestic and international locations come to see the dance. This event takes place in the Khajuraho district in Madhya Pradesh. This event is one-week festival and will be taking place from 20th Feb- 26th February every year.

History: –

This festival started in 1975 and its roots can be traced back to ancient Hindu mythology where different forms of dance forms like Nathan, kathak, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi played an significant role in Hindu scripture.  As per Hindu mythology, Hindu gods have different expertise in some dance form or other. Lord Shiva Nataraja is an great example one can look upon. He used to express his anger through tandav dance.

One can see that Lord Krishna and Gopi uses to express their raasleela playfully and other examples one can find in  our history and folklore. One can see the incredible artworks done in the temples that have gained the attention of tourists from all over the world.  One can be amused about the kingdom and reason behind the construction of this place.

The architecture of these temples is in Nagara style and mostly found in Hindu and Jain temples. The sculptures on   on the walls of temple depict the day to day life events in sensual manner. History depict that these temples are built between 950 and 1050 Ad by Chandela  dynasty. This is regarded as one of the best festivals celebrated in India.

Bharatanatyam:-

This is an indian classical dance that had originated in Tamil Nadu. This showcases the south indian culture while interpreting themes from Shaivism and Vaishnavism.

  • Kathak- This is an indian classical form which has 8 dance forms. The dance form -Kathak is  expressed through story telling that is interpreted through dance form. Dancers use various gesture and posture which express story in different way.
  • Kuchipudi – This is believed that dance form was established by the name of village known as Kuchipudi. This is located in Andhra Pradesh. This form has derived its theme from dance -drams performance with roots in Sanskrit text – Natya Shastra.
  • Manipuri – This form of dance is known as Jagoi and it is interesting to know that Manipuri is named after its own region -Manipur. The north eastern state is popular in rich cultural heritage and culture.
  • Musical Show – The tourists from all the world visit this  festival to witness performance of great musical artists of India. One can enjoy the melodious artists found playing Mridangam and Tabla in co-ordination with dancers.

Lined up Artists- the event is organised in front of Chitragupta temple and Vishwanath temple. Tourist will encounter mesmerising performances of artists like ArushiNishank Radha -Raja Reddy and Darshana Jhaveri.