For the very first time, Garo dance of Meghalaya and Cheraw dance of Mizoram will be performed at the International Dance Day celebrations in London on April 27.
The programme this year is dedicated to highlight the empowerment of tribal communities of India. Women presenting these dances have been trained locally for the past few months. Apart from these dances, Siddi dance of Karnataka and Pawara Adivasi dance of Maharashtra will also be showcased.
The event, organised at the Church of Scientology in London, also aims to highlight the initiatives taken to empower the tribal and forest dweller communities of India. They include MSP (Minimum Selling Price) for MFP (Minor Forest Produce), establishment of two central tribal universities in India, tribal research centres and centres of excellence to preserve the uniqueness of tribal traditions including folklore, promoting the indigenous art forms such as tribal dances and paintings, running of Ekalavya Model Residential Schools, national fellowships and scholarships etc.
Coordinators of this event Ragasudha, who is herself a trained classical dancer and a Limca Book world record holder in dance, and Sushil Rapatwar said, “We are pleased to be creating awareness about a tiny portion of the vast tribal culture and heritage of India. Saora, Gond, Bhil, Pithora and Warli arts are a rich treasure and a substantial means of non-agricultural income for these tribal communities leading to their empowerment. The indigenous tribal dance forms, especially from the Northeast are rarely seen in Britain. We are proud to be presenting a combination of dancing and development of tribal communities on this occasion.”
