The three-day Jhalak Poorvottar Youth Fest, which began on January 12, was a treat from the Northeast to the people of Delhi. The fest kicked off with a procession from the Red Fort on January 12, which was graced by about two lakh people.

The NRI Music and Dance festival, the two-day festival that began on January 9, is a treat for music and dance lovers. Inviting Indian and overseas classical dancers and giving them a same stage to perform, the festival tries to establish the link between different dancers and a bond between them. Starting from Bharatanatyam to Odissi to Kathak, this dance and music festival has everything for everyone.

The ghetto called Aroma reeks of putrefying trash collected by its residents for recycling. Half-naked children with grimy faces play on muddy dirt roads lined by crumbling shanties of tarpaulin walls, cracked tin roofs and communal toilets.

Striving for excellence, doing away with mediocrity, exploring themes beyond the usual dynamics of dance and keeping it minimal, headlined dance trends in 2012. From delving into in-depth classical dance productions to exchanging ideas with global contemporary dancers, the Indian dance scene certainly came out of the closet.

Dance goes beyond the dynamics of choreography. It is a process where dance becomes a way of life.
A dancer’s life is packed with gruelling schedules and back-to-back rehearsals. In such a scenario, a dancer needs to keep in mind about his/her fitness levels. I have tried several ways to keep fit; be it through Yoga, Aerobics, Gym, swimming, kickboxing, Zumba and many more.

You know you are speaking to an accomplished performer if she talks about how she still feels like a child every time she approaches something new. Well-known Kathak and contemporary danseuse admits that she loves the child-like enthusiasm she maintains.

The 15 minutes contemporary dance festival — Quaterfest 2012 — held in the India Habitat Centre on December 8 and 9 was an energetic and dynamic performance.

Belly dance was not so popular over a decade ago in India. People even considered it to be cheap and vulgar, but in the past few years it has gained tremendous popularity.

Once a dancer, always a dancer. A dancer, truly dedicated to her art remains entrenched in it till her last breath. And renowned danseuse Sonal Mansingh is living up to that.

For them, the coming of winter marks the season of celebration. They consider it a period of pleasure like spring and merry-making. The Santh-als, a primitive tribal community living in the mineral-rich Sukinda valley under the Jajpur district in Odisha, commemorate arr-ival of the winter in a different fashion.