Circle dances like dandiya celebrate inclusion, intimacy
The largest Navratri festival, with elaborate and energetic choreography, is held in Richmond, Virginia.
Back in 1993, I saw a group of women perambulate a small Shakti mandir on a beach in Okha, Gujarat. Clad in homely, printed chiffon saris, they had gathered at dusk to venerate Ma Durga, followed by a song-and-dance ritual around the temple.
As I approached them, the circle opened up to include me. I became one with the motion, moving along, part of a larger whole. That feeling of being included in a local ritual has remained with me ever since.
This was a village fare during Navratri. Dedicated garba-dandiya raas performers make this a thrilling nine nights' extravaganza around the world. The largest Navratri festival, with elaborate and energetic choreography, is held in Richmond, Virginia. What is it about this dance form that begets such enthusiasm?
The dancers move around in circles making circular movements with their hands and feet. The circle denotes the transition from life to death to rebirth, leaving only the goddess (garba lamp - life/light in the womb) in the centre, unchanging and invincible. The circular or spiral figures of garba have similarities with other spiritual dances such as those in the Sufi culture.
Sufi whirling involves spinning in repetitive circles to attain ecstatic trance. It is uplifting and meditative at once. The dance form is part of a worship ceremony in which dervishes aim to reach the source of energy by giving up their ego and individuality.
On a similar note, Sardana, a circle dance from Catalonia, has been deeply associated with Catalan nationalism of late, and is marked by linked hands, which can be opened to any number of dancers. Small circles grow into bigger ones in no time, when danced in streets and city squares of the region.
Khigga is unique to Assyria. The intricate foot work accompanying the dance lends it vigour and jubilance which works well during weddings and festivity.
The circle dance form, closed and yet open, signifies the unending circle of life. It is one of the oldest known dance formations, with connotations of community, equality, harmony and strength.
A circle is open to participation, where you belong and become one with others - "I am because we are". It is this quality of open invitation, inclusion and intimacy that imbues circular dancing with universal appeal. No doubt, garba-dandiya raas is creating waves on the global stage.
Imagine solo or couple dancing. Waltz, foxtrot, tango, jive are dances where a third person would never think of joining a twosome. That would amount to intrusion. They would have to find a partner to participate, and the intimacy is confined to the two of them. Formations and body language in dance culture spell out boundaries without vocalisation.
What people contribute when they dance in a circle is not just steps. It's the entire experience of joy that stems from coming together. To say that circle dances are practised worldwide would be incorrect. They part of many folk traditions, but these are centred in the Balkans, Mediterranean, Scandinavian, Middle East, South East Asia, Africa, Latin America and East Europe.
This demographic analysis is a direct reflection on the cultural makeup of the rest of the world. Dance, along with music, has always dynamically expressed the spirit and personality of every culture. Circle dances mark the cultural maps of developing countries rather than the so-called developed world. Now isn't that something to reflect upon?
Influenced by primitive art, the French modernist painter, Matisse, introduced La Ronde, a circle dance, in his famous painting The Joy of Life. The painting later evolved into another remarkable work, La Dance, a traditional dance of circling figures rooted in the Dionysian culture of antiquity, opposed by the church for its malefic links. His deep engagement with dance helped create newer perspectives of looking at folk dance forms for the western audiences.
While the five humans in the circle - bending, leaping and surging - depict the living pulsating eroticism of the world, there is a break in the circle. The hands of the front two dancers closest to the viewer are not linked. Those parted hands invite the viewer, the person standing outside the circle, to join in the dance of life.
Circle dance was definitely not the norm in medieval times in the west, due to strong opposition from the Church. Yet artists from the Renaissance Period - Botticelli (Primavera- Dance of the Graces), Mantegna (Parnassus), and Pieter Bruegel (The Wedding Dance) explored the form in their paintings. Later, Henri Rousseau (Le Centenaire) and Auguste Rodin (La Ronde etching) and various other artists embraced the philosophy behind the circle dance, questioning its peripheral role in their culture.
Of late, circle dance has been introduced to communities in the western world. Garba-dandiya is just one example. People who have experienced circle dance once keep coming back to it. Diehard performers wouldn't replace it by any other dance form. If someone is going through a tough time, they hold hands and dance through that experience.
Accessibility and empathy, hallmark of circle dance, are valuable qualities, never experienced in other dances that emphasise mastery and pride in dancing to perfection. Couple competitions invigorate the feeling of excelling even more. One unit pitted against the other. On the contrary, affinity runs through a circle, a human connection which weaves threads of commonality.
Marina Beer, a circle dance proponent in the US, shares her insight: "When someone would take a wrong step and apologise, the circle would say, "There are no mistakes; only variations. We go out of our way to make newcomers and beginners feel welcome and at ease, sometimes to the detriment of the older dancers' experience. It's a delicate balance between offering dances anybody can do and including some more challenging ones that a subset of the circle loves.
And yes, the added charm of dancing bare feet is incomparable!