India’s diversity in culture and tradition can be seen in its folk art tradition too. The Folk dance has different faces in different regions.

Dumhal is a dance performed by the menfolk of the Wattal tribe of Kashmir on specific occasions.

Hikat, danced by women, is a modification of a game played by children. Forming pairs, the participants extend their arms to the front gripping each other’s wrists and with the body inclined back, go round and round at the same spot.

All regions of Himachal Pradesh have their own dances. Mostly men and women dance together, close to each other in the formation. The Namagen dance is performed in September to celebrate the autumnal hues. The costumes are largely woollen and richly studded ornaments of silver are worn by women. The most picturesque amongst these are dances of Gaddis.

The dances of the Doms and the Bhotiyas in Uttar Pradesh range from simple performances of rejoicing to ritualistic dances. The most amongst these is the Dhurang or Dhuring dance, which is connected with the death ceremonies. Its objective is to liberate the soul of the dead person from evil spirits. All the dancers hold swords and dance in a circle. The movements are virile and reminds one of the hunting dances of the Nagas on the eastern borders of India.

The Jhumeila, the Chaunfla of Garhwal and the Hurkia Baul of Kumaon are seasonal dances. The Hurka Baul is performed during paddy and maize cultivation.

A famous dance of Kumaon, Uttar Pradesh, is the Chholiya, performed during marriages. As the procession proceeds to the bride’s house, men dancers, armed with swords and shields, dance spiritedly.

The Dalkhai dance is performed by women of some of the tribes in Sambalpur district in Orissa at the time of seasonal festivals.

A dummy horse version is the Chaiti Ghorha, danced by a community of fisherfolk. The performers are all men. Apart from dancing, the performers sing, deliver homilies of sorts, and offer brief dramatic enactments peppered with wit and humour.

West Bengal, the state where our poets and writers belong to, has a rich tradition of folk art. Brita or Vrita dances is one of the most important traditional folk dances of Bengal.

Kali Nach is another dance performed during Gajan, in honour of the Goddess Kali. Here, the performer wears a mask, purified by mantras, and dances with a sword, and when worked up can make prophetic answers.

The Bihu is the most widespread folk dance of Assam and is enjoyed by all, young and old, rich and poor. Bihu festival comes in mid-April, when harvesting is done, and continues for about a month.

The characteristic feature of all Naga dancing is the use of the human figure in an erect posture with many movements of the legs and comparatively little use of the torso, and the shoulders. Khamba Lim is performed by two groups of men and women who stand in two rows. A similar dance is known as the Akhu.

The native tribals of Dadra & Nagar Haveli have their own traditions and dances. On moonlit nights, melodious Tarpa dancers tap their feet and encircle the Tarpakar to dance past midnight. Mask dancers or Bhavada folk dance is colourful.

Kargam is the most common form of folk dance in Tamil Nadu. Originally, it was dedicated to Mariamman, the goddess of health and rain. The Kargam dance is essentially part of a ritual and is performed by men balancing pots filled with uncooked rice, surrounded by a tall conical bamboo frame covered with flowers. The musical accompaniment comprises a drum and a long pipe.

The Dollu Kunitha is a popular drum dance of Karnataka. The men have large drums, decorated with coloured cloth, slung from their necks, and they beat the drums as they dance with nimble movements of the feet and legs. The dance is at times accompanied by songs, which are either religious or in praise of war.

Padayani or Padeni in colloquial speech, is one of the most colourful and spectacular folk arts associated with the festivals of certain temples in southern Kerala

Thiruvathirakkali or Kaikottikkali is a popular dance form of the women folk of Kerala. In this, eight to ten girls perform forming a circle by themselves.

Thullal, the dance form of Kerala , it requires no initiation to intelligently respond to it. One can easily react and enjoy Thullal without any prior exposure or sophisticated understanding. As this is composed in the language of the layman, it is known as the ‘poorman’s Kathakali’

In Maharashtra there are religious devotional dances called Dindi and Kala. These dances describe the playful attitude of Lord Krishna.

Garba, the leading dance of women in Gujarat, is associated withthe fertility cult. For the nine nights of Navaratri, an autumn festival,women come out into the open and with perforated earthen pots holding lighted lambs poised on the head sing, clap and dance a simple, circular dance, in honour of the goddess Amba.

Among the functional dances in India, the Tippani is one. It is danced by women labourers in parts of Saurashtra, to relieve tedium, as part of the beating of the floor with wooden mallets, in the construction of a house.

The most popular instinctive dance of men in Punjab, Bhangra , if not the most robust, is one of India’s popular folk dances. This dance is performed during the Baisakhi festival to the accompaniments and songs of Dholak. The counterpart of the Bhangra is the Gidha, danced by womanfolk. The dance is a group number.
Dhamyal is the leading dance of Haryana, often also known as the Duph. The Duph is a circular drum, played nimbly by the men dancers, while the dance can be performed by men alone or along with women. Lahoor, the women’s dance of Haryana is generally performed during Spring, when work in the fields is over. The dance is often accompanied by witty questions and retorts rendered in a sing-song manner.