Folk Dance from Orissa

This is a folk dance from central eastern India, from the coastal state of Orissa, as performed by the group "Kalanjali: Dances of India." Sign up and find out more about this and our other productions at http://PalominoProDVD-CD.com. Every region of India has different folk dances, expressing the culture of the people from that particular place, and Orissa is no exception. The culture and language of people from different regions are distinct, and the dress that they wear in the folk dances is also different. Orissa (also written Odisha) has a population of nearly 42 million people. It´s history goes back some 5,000 years. About three quarters of the inhabitants are from one ethnic group (called the Oriya people) with the remainders coming from various hill tribes. Like most Indians, the people of Orissa share one common religion, which is the Hindu religion. (Other religions flourish in the country, but have nothing like the number of adherents that Hinduism does.) In addition, like most of India, the area was ruled for several centuries by the British. This folk dance is lovely, and reminds me that so much of India is rural, and is concerned with preserving its heritage. The dancers of Kalanjali learn it in part to stress that along with the distinctions and differences, all Indians are one and each group can learn from, and enjoy, the others. The dance comes from my documentary about Indian music and dance called "Of Beauty & Deities: Music & Dance of India." Produced by Palomino Productions, it has shown over PBS and other television stations and is also out on DVD. http://OfBeautyandDeities.com If you think of India only as a place of great spiritualism and spiritual religions, this folk dance will show you another side of a magnificent civilization.