Highlights

• The festival is being held in the temple premises after 44 years.
• The permission was granted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to organise the festival at the site.
• This year, the fee has also been waived off to organise the festival.
• It is organised by the Department of Culture of Madhya Pradesh Government.

Background

The dance festival was started being organised at this site some 46 years ago om 1974 with the objective of promoting the heritage and tourism. ASI cancelled the permission after two years in 1976 following the reports of destruction of monuments and defacement of idols present in the premise. So, the festival was organised in an open garden for the past 44 years.

Khajuraho Dance Festival

This dance festival is organised by the Madhya Pradesh Kala Parishad annually from February 20^th to February 26th. It is a one-week festival of classical dances.  It is organised in the premise of the Khajuraho temples in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh. The dance festival showcases the richness of Indian classical dance styles including the Odissi, Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Manipuri, Kuchipudi, and Kathakali. Recently, the Modern Indian dance was also added to the festival.

Khajuraho temple

Khajuraho is the group of monuments comprising of Hindu temples and Jain temples. It is located in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. It is located at around 175 kilometres southeast from the Jhansi. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Khajuraho temples are famous for nagara-style architectural symbolism. Most of the temples were built between 885 AD and 1050 AD by Chandela dynasty.