There will be six performances, one exchange workshop with Kuna Kepang and one talk on Chhau and traditional folk art and culture of West Bengal.
Representation image [Photo:SNS]
For the first time, Chhau dancers from West Bengal will take part in a three day Chhau Dance Festival in Singapore. The festival will start from 28 April and continue till 30 April.
Chhau dance was recognised as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2010. The programme in Singapore is titled “ A Tapestry of Sacred Music Chhau Mythology in dance.”
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The programme will be held at Esplanade Court. As there are many Indians in Singapore, the festival has evoked tremendous response among the Diaspora. A 12- member team led by Biren Kalindi of Bandwan will lead the team.
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There will be six performances, one exchange workshop with Kuna Kepang and one talk on Chhau and traditional folk art and culture of West Bengal.
The initiative was taken jointly by the MSME department of West Bengal government and UNESCO under the Rural Craft and Cultural Hub project. This project covers 50,000 traditional artistes. Capacity building of artistes, documentation of art forms, safeguarding heritage, linking artistes directly to market and holding village festivals are key elements of this project. In March 2023 six women folk artistes were invited to Denmark.
After coming power in 2011, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave special emphasis on the preservation of traditional folk culture and heritage. Many folk artists had left their age old profession and took up other vocation because of financial crunch.
The West Bengal government not only gives stipend to 2 lakh folk artistes, they are regularly given programmes at different fairs organized by the state government. The masks used by the folk artistes are very popular but because of their huge size it is difficult to keep them as wall decoration.
The Chief Minister urged the mask making artisans to make masks that are smaller in size and they are being exported globally.
There are three varieties of Chhau Dance, namely, Mayurbhanj Chhau of Odisha, Seraikella Chhau of Jharkhand and Chhau dance of Purulia. The artists present stories from the Epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata.
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