Spotlight
Satriya Dances Of Assam:An Emerging Classical Danc

The Satriya dances of Assam, performed for centuries in the monasteries called Satra-s, is slowly emerging as a classical dance- form. Perhaps because of the religious character of the dance, its emergence from the cloister onto the contemporary dance stage has been recent. But this dance-form has all the elements needed for it to be categorised as 'classical'. Nritta (pure dance) as distinguished from nritya (expressional dance), together with natya, the element of drama, are all clearly defined in it.
The stances in Satriya dances, moreover, reveal a commonality with other classical dance-forms. For instance, it has chauka--the squatting, square position as seen in Odissi, and the chakkar or spin of Kathak, with considerable footwork and hand gestures. The dance is accompanied by vocal music with the typical flavor of Assam, the khol (a kind of drum) and the flute.