CLASSICAL DANCES

IN INDIA

IMPORTANT MCQs
Which of the following is not recognized by Sangeet Natak Akademi as a Classical Dance?

Sangeet Natak Akademi has recognised 8 classical dance forms :

a) Kuchipudi
b) Odissi • Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Mohiniattam, Odissi,
c) Chhau Manipuri, Kathak and Sattriya.

d) Sattriya The Ministry of Culture has recognised 9 classical dance forms :

• Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Mohiniattam, Odissi,

Manipuri, Kathak, Sattriya and Chhau.

Sattriya dance, which is one of the eight principal classical Indian dance traditions, is from which of
the following states?

• Bharatnatyam (Tamil • Odissi (Odisha)

a) Manipur
Nadu)
b) West Bengal • Manipuri (Manipur)
• Kuchipudi (Andhra
c) Mizoram Pradesh) • Kathak (North India)

d) Assam • Kathakali (Kerala) • Sattriya (Assam)

• Mohiniattam (Kerala) • Chhau (Odisha,

Jharkhand, West Bengal)

Which of the following dance is in the UNESCO Intangible Heritage list ?

a) Kathak • Chhau is with martial, tribal and folk traditions

b) Chhau • Originates from Chhaya meaninig shadow.
c) Odissi • 3 main styles:
d) Mohiniattam • Mayurbhanj Chhau – Odisha (mask not used)
• Saraikella Chhau – Jharkhand
• Purulia Chhau – West Bengal
• Got inscribed in UNESCO Representative List of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010
 What is meaning of Mohiniyattam ?

a) Beautiful woman dance • ‘Mohini’ meaning beautiful woman and ‘attam’ means dance.
b) Story Teller • It combines the grace and elegance of Bharatnatyam with
the vigour of Kathakali.
c) Beautiful dance • Costume is of special importance in Mohiniattam, with white
d) None of the Above and off-white being the principal colours and presence of
gold coloured brocade designs.
• The element of air is symbolised through a Mohiniattam
performance.

Lasya is/are symbolic to the…..?

a) Feminine As per Natya Shastra, there are two basic aspects of Indian
classical dance : Tandava and Lasya
b) Masculine
c) Both (a) and (b) 1. Tandava (movement & rhythm) : This is symbolic to the
male aspects of dance.
d) Neither (a) nor (b)
2. Lasya (grace, bhava, rasa & abhinaya) : It is symbolic to the
feminine features of dance.

Jugalbandi, a competitive and playful recital between dancer and table player, is found in which dance
form?
• Lucknow : Reached its peak under the reign of Nawab Wajid Ali
a) Bharatnatyam Khan. It puts more importance on expression and grace.
b) Kathak • Jaipur : Initiated by Bhanuji, it emphasised fluency, speed and long
rhythmic patterns.
c) Sattriya
d) Odissi • Raigarh : It developed under the patronage of Raja Chakradhar
Singh. It is unique in its emphasis on percussion music.
• Banaras : It developed under Janakiprasad. It sees a greater use of
floorwork and lays special emphasis on symmetry.

The dance encouraged and performed from the temples of Tanjore was?

a) Kathak
considered as the oldest classical dance form.
b) Odissi Bharatnatyam is often referred to as the ‘fire dance’, as it is
c) Bharatanatyam the manifestation of fire in the human body.
▪Origin - temple dancers or ‘devadasis’ in Tamil Nadu.
d) Kathakali ▪Hence it was also referred to as ‘Dashiattam’.

• In the early nineteenth century, four dance teachers of Thanjavur, known as the ‘Tanjor quartet’
defined the elements of a Bharatnatyam recital.
• Under them, Bharatnatyam also came to be known as Tanjore natyam.
 Which of the following is not among the nine rasas?

a) Adbhuta
b) Roudra
c) Lavanya
शृंगार रस, रौद्र रस, वीर रस, वीभत्स रस,
d) Bibhatsa हास्य रस, करुण रस, अद्भत ु रस,
भयानक रस, शाृंत रस

The nine rasas are : Love, Anger,

Heroism, Disgust, Comedy, Compassion,
Wonder, Horror and Tranquility.

Sitara Devi is associated with which classical dance form?

Pandit Birju Maharaj

a) Bharatnatyam
Lachu Maharaj
b) Manipuri Shambu Maharaj
c) Kathak Shovna Narayan
Sunanya Hazarilal Agarwal
d) Odissi Pandit Durgalal
Prerana Shrimala
Rani Karna

In which of the following states is Chhau not practiced?

a) Odisha
b) Jharkhand
c) West Bengal
d) Maharashtra

In Nandikeshwara’s Abhinaya Darpana, what is the meaning of Nritta?

As per “Abhinaya Darpan”, dance has been broken into

three basic elements :
a) Dramatic representation
• Nritta : basic dance steps, performed rhythmically but
b) Emotions evoked through dance devoid of any expression or mood.
• Natya : dramatic representations and refers to the
c) Dance steps, devoid of emotions story that is elaborated through the dance recital.
d) None of the above • Nritya : It refers to the sentiment and the emotions
evoked through dance. It includes the mime and the
different methods of expression including mudras in
the dance.
Pandit Birju Maharaj belonged to which Gharana of Kathak?

• Lucknow
• Jaipur
Brijmohan Mishra popularly known as ‘Pandit Birju Maharaj’
• Banaras was one of the most prominent exponents of Lucknow ‘Kalka
• Raigarh Bindadin’ Gharana of Kathak dance in India.

Born in 1937, he was a descendant of the Maharaj family of

Kathak dancers, including both his uncles ‘Shambu Maharaj’ and
‘Lachhu Maharaj’, and his guru and father, ‘Acchan Maharaj’.

Ileana Citaristi, the first classical dancer of foreign origin who was conferred with Padma
Shree, was associated with?

• Kathak
• Odissi
• Bharatnatyam
• Kuchipudi
Ileana Citaristi is an Italian-born Odissi and Chhau
dancer, and dance instructor based in Bhubaneswar

Milena Salvini, Padma Shri awardee, was associated with which dance form?

• Bharatnatyam
• Kathakali
• Kathak
• Odissi

The Italian-born French art researcher was an ambassador of

Kathakali and other Indian classical art forms in France.

The country honoured her with Padma Shri, recognising her

contributions to the field of Kathakali in 2019.
Tribhangi and Samabhangi are the postures involved in which Indian classical dance form?

The dancers create intricate geometrical shapes and

• Kuchipudi patterns with her body. Hence, it is known as ‘mobile
• Manipuri sculpture’.
The dance form symbolises the element of water.
• Odissi
• Kathakali

Which of the following dance forms is known to have originated from the Kuchelapuram village
of Andhra Pradesh?

• Kuchipudi
• Kathakali
• Bharatnatyam
• Mohiniattam

Which of the following dance forms is known as Ballad of the East?

• Sattriya
• ‘Katha’ meaning story and ‘Kali’ meaning drama.
• Manipuri • It was revived in the 1930s by the famous Malayali poet V. N.
• Bharatnatyam Menon under the patronage of Mukunda Raja.
• It draws its themes from the stories narrated in the epics and
• Kathakali the puranas. It is also called as the ‘ballad of the east’.

Which of the following is considered as the oldest among all classical dance forms?

• Kathakali
• Kuchipudi
• Bharatnatyam
• Odissi
 The caves of Udayagiri and Khandagiri have images of which classical dance form?

• Kathak
• Odissi
• Kathakali
• Sattriya

Vaishnav Saint Shankaradeva is known to have introduced the modern form of which classical
dance?

• Sattriya • “Sattriya” is derived from the Vaishnava monasteries

known as “Sattras”, where it was primarily practised.
• Manipuri
• The songs composition of Shankaradeva are known as
• Chhau ‘Borgeets’.
• Kathakali • It is inspired from Bhakti Movement.

As per Natya Shastra, the two basic aspects of Indian Classical Dance are?

• Natya and Nritya

• Nayaka and Nayika
• Lasya and Tandava
• Ras and Mudra

Rukmini Devi Arundale was associated with which of the following forms of classical dances?

• Kathak
• Odissi
• Kuchipudi
• Bharatnatyam

the efforts of E. Krishna Iyer, a prominent freedom

fighter, revived this dance form.

Rukmini Devi Arundale, another famous proponent

of Bharatnatyam, is remembered for giving global
recognition to the dance.
Sonal Mansingh is associated with which classical dance form?

• Kuchipudi
• Odissi
• Manipuri
• Kathak

Who became the first transgender woman to be awarded with Padma Shri?

a) Narthaki Nataraj
Narthaki Nataraj is a Bharatanatyam dancer, born
b) Manjamma Jogathi in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
c) Prithika Yashini In 2019, she was awarded the Padma Shri
d) Sathyashri Sharmila Sathyashri Sharmila – first transgender lawyer in India
Prithika Yashini – first transgender police officer in india

Ankia Naat is a type of which classical dance form?

• Manipuri
• Sattriya • It is type of Sattriya.
• It involves play or musical-drama.
• Kuchipudi • It is also called ‘Bhaona’.
• Kathakali • It involves stories of Lord Krishna.