Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Y for Yule Ball

The first time I came across the word ball may have been when my father got me the quintessential striped plastic ball with blue, red and yellow colours. Then came along Cinderella and I knew there is a ball which is an event which people attend dressed fabulously and dance. I am still trying to fathom how on earth one can dance wearing glass slippers. Super Durable Glass I must say and they would have been quite heavy wouldn't they ? 

The Yule ball is an event that happens during the Triwizarding tournament in the Goblet of Fire book of Harry Potter series. The participants are supposed to bring partners and there are some happenings around who dances with who and who ends up sabotaging all hopes of a good time.I thought Emma Watson looked ravishing in that scene in the movie. 

Dancing in pairs like this is a concept we Indians came to know from the West. During the days of the British Raj it was common for the English residing in India to have events where the English gentlemen waltzed with their ladies. But the Indians mostly did not have access nor were culturally inclined towards it.   It is not a common practise in India to have Prom nights or other similar events in high school.   I came to know of them mainly from Hollywood movies and TV series. In college though, we had a dance workshop where I learnt ones like Tango, Waltz and Jive for fun and put up a show just for fun.

We do have our own share of community  dancing.Visit an Indian wedding and you would know. If you have watched Indian movies you would be accustomed to the fact that music and dance play important roles.Music direction and Choreography are significant departments in movie making. This sort of dancing has a huge influence on the masses especially kids and the youth. We have dance festivals, dance competitions, TV shows based on dancing and simple just-enjoy party dancing. During my teens , a Philips tape recorder was my constant companion and I loved dancing in my room ignoring my mother's pleas to reduce the volume ( oh yes I was a rebel!)

We have hundreds of traditional classical dance forms in India that takes years of practise to master with their own rules and methods and practises. They need to be learnt from trained teachers and is done with piety and reverence. A few examples are the BharatnatyamKuchipudi, Kathak and Kathakali

Below is a link to a youtube video giving a glimpse into one such dance form the Bharatnatyam.

https://youtu.be/qA0pT6_zkCI

Movies, as I mentioned earlier have their own contributions to the art of dancing. Below is a song from a Tamil movie , and I really love the dancing in this one. A song I enjoy dancing to with my little girl.

The traditional and movie based modern dance forms are both encouraged in society and peacefully coexist and sometimes influence one another too . 

What is your favourite dance form ? 



19 comments:

  1. Interesting how you connect all the threads here
    from atoz https://pagesfromjayashree.blogspot.com/2021/04/y-for-yule-ball.html

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  2. Good catch for Y - I had to resort to the dictionary for inspiration...
    https://how-would-you-know.blogspot.com/2021/04/y-is-for-youthful-idealism.html

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    1. Thanks . I learnt a little bit about Yule thanks to Google while writing this post.

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  3. Bhangra, of course:) But I love to dance so any kind will do.
    BTW, I never gave any thought to those glass slippers before--now that you mention it--not at all practical:)
    I love the Tamil song--chinna, chinna from Roja but don't think one can dance to it, can sway to it for sure.

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    1. That has beautiful lyrics. It's like simple wishes. The word Aasai means wish

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  4. Indian traditional dance forms are amazing! Of course, I've had a thing for waltz for a long time. But my favorite dance form would be Manipuri. I love the dress of the female dancers in that form.

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    1. I agree. The costume is quite colourful and the head dress is pretty

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  5. What I've seen of Indian dance is amazing. So colourful and energetic.

    My favourites in my dancing days were the Jive and the Twist! Not sure I could manage those moves now though!

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    1. I have learnt Jive and Twist and I love them better than the Waltz . The latter needs too much grace !

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  6. Love this post! Dancing is something I miss so much since the pandemic began. I have heard there may be line dancing (socially distanced) on NYC's piers this summer, which will help fill the gaps. https://mollyscanopy.com/2021/04/youth-job-at-the-altamont-fair-atozchallenge/

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    1. Hope there is ane hope you enjoy ...But sometimes it has to be youtube, you dance and you enjoy :)

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  7. Yes, so many Indian dance forms we have! Nothing like a favourite for me. The artistic movements to the rhythm of music is so enchanting and impressive.

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  8. Hi Jayashree - Indian dancing is quite beautiful to see ... just wish I was more competent at dancing ... but I enjoy watching. All the best - Hilary

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  9. Thanks for providing your blog link after your comment. That helps alot. I love to dance but I am not a good dancer.

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  10. Hi Jayashree, the Indian dancing I've seen in movies and on television is beautiful. The colors are so vibrant! I don't have a favorite form of dancing but I love to do it to relieve stress!

    Elsie

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  11. India has such a rich and beautiful culture. My closest friend in high school immigrated from India and I learned so much from her. She was so wonderful and shared her beautiful customs with me. She nicknamed me Ishika.

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  12. Love Bharatanatyam myself; and various Indian folk dance forms too.. and today Zumba is my way of bringing dance to help me with my fitness (tbh, has been a while!)
    You Can Never Tell the Many Ways You Matter

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