Shastri Boodan
The beauty of Indian dance was on display on Friday when the National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC) held its Festival of Dance in celebration of Indian Arrival Day.
Eight dance groups from across T&T took to the main stage to deliver both Indian classical styles as well as contemporary styles.
Surujdeo Mangaroo, first vice president of the NCIC, said, “Indian dance has grown tremendously in the last 40 years. We have seen the growth of Indian dance, especially over the last decade, as more and more people of other ethnic backgrounds are participating in the various genres of Indian dance.”
He said social media has given additional exposure to the art form, explaining, “This allows many dance groups to use a phone to highlight photos and videos of their performances. Several decades ago, Indian dance was relegated to special events in the local Indian communities, such as weddings.”
Mangaroo said they have seen Indian dance evolve on the national landscape, where dances are performed at several events.
He said local Indian culture was part of T&T’s culture. “It means not only a growth in culture but income for people like costume designers, dancers, make-up artists, and so on. We are proud that some of our local dancers have gone on to train in India. We see more young men coming forward and expressing themselves through dance.”
Some prestigious male Indian dancers include Rajkumar Krishna Persad, Dr Sat Balkaran, Nizam Mohammed, and Indarpaul Beharry.
