Almost all the major streams of Indian Dance have enriched dance in Bengal and contributed to its development. Thus a separate style or ‘gharana’ emerged in Bengal which manifested the perfect blending of wisdom, devotion and spiritualism. The philosophy of Lord Krishna and Sri Radha and its profound significance is inextricably embedded in the Indian life and culture. Naturally, all art forms have been influenced by this ethereal philosophy and tradition. Dance, as a major form of performing art, is no exception to it.
All the major dance forms in Bengal reveal the divine amorous spirit of Lord Krishna. The evolution of these dance forms have a historical and social background because the various dance-styles have represented the conflicts, inherent contradictions and several hues of a fast-changing, dynamic society. The Indian civilization has a glorious heritage. There is an eventful history of conflicts, strifes and struggles which have contributed to establishing the typical Indian culture and tradition. In course of time, these dance forms have undergone a lot of changes while hobnobbing with different races and communities, adopting different patterns and lifestyles of people of diverse habits and habitats. In spite of all the apparent discrepancies, all the dance forms converge at a point which typifies the Indian tradition of unity in diversity. This converging point is the ‘Radhakrishna Leela’ (amorous sport of Lord Krishna and Sree Radha). All the dance forms in this state have developed a sui generis style leased on the aforesaid subject. They derive their main inspiration from devotional songs and music. Joydev’s unique composition, ‘Geeta Govinda’, deserves special mention in this regard.
The historical evolution of dance forms is conspicuous in different paintings and sculptures of different times. The ‘Ras-Nritya’ (amorous dance) of Lord Krishna and his beloved is found in the Rajasthani, Kangra, Pahari, Madhubani and several ‘gharanas’ of paintings. Keeping this fundamental affinity borne in mind, let us now discuss about the various dance forms commonly seen or practiced in Bengal.