Music and Dance

In India, dance and music are all-pervading, bringing color to numerous festivals and ceremonies, and re-affirming the faith of people in their heritage. The tradition of the performing arts in India has its roots in age-old texts, the Vedas, in which ritual manifested itself through music, dance and drama.

The Natya-shastra, an ancient treatise on dramaturgy, explains that when written texts became the sole prerogative of an educated few, the gods appealed to Bramha, the Creator, to promulgate a fifth Veda, in the form of audiovisual art that would be accessible to all, irrespective of caste or formal education. Thus the Natya Veda was conceived, drawing for content and teaching from the other four and presenting the quintessence of all the arts, whether literature, sculpture, music, painting or dance.

In India, religion, philosophy and myth cannot be divorced from their art forms. Dance and music are tied inextricably to ceremonies. Weddings, births, coronations, entering a new house or town, welcoming a guest, religious processions, harvest time – any or all of these are occasions for song and dance.

Indian music and dance demand a spirit of devotion and of total surrender. For the physical is transitory and easily transmuted, while a sincere practice of the arts can achieve the highest spiritual experience.