Dance one of the oldest art forms of the world. Anthropologists believe that it started with the earliest human beings, developing as part of magical or religious ceremonies. These early dances were closely associated with the different stages of life: puberty, initiation, marriage, death. They were also inspired by the need to communicate with supernatural forces and to control the world of nature, either by offering thanksgiving or sacrifice. Primitive dances accordingly included hunting dances, agricultural dances, fertility dances, etc.

The moon, the sun, mountains, old trees used to be regarded as deities and worshipped, often through dance. Pictures of early humans show groups of men and women dancing in rows or circles, with their hands raised over their heads. In the Indian subcontinent dance may be traced back to the Indus Valley civilisation, with various artefacts found at Harappa and Mohenjodaro showing different dance postures. One of the most famous of these artefacts is that of a nude dancing girl, her hip stuck out provocatively.

Hindu temples show gods and goddesses in dancing postures. The image of Nataraj (shiva) deserves special mention. His frenzied dance of annihilation represents creation as well as destruction. Nataraj is regarded as the creator of Indian dance. He and his wife Parvati are also believed to have created amorous or seductive dance forms.

Young unmarried girls, known as sevadasis or devadasis, used to serve gods in different temples by dancing. It was essentially through them that Indian dance flourished in ancient times. These dances, which only sevadasis were permitted to perform, were forbidden outside the temples.

The principles of classical dance in India are recorded in the Natyashastra by Bharat (200-100 BC), who, for the first time, recorded the artistic details and rules of Indian dance. Apart from Bharatnatyam, which probably evolved from the classical form depicted in Bharata's Natyasastra, there were three other forms of classical dance: Kathakali, Kathak and Manipuri. An idea of these dances, and the different postures of the dancers, can be gathered from the innumerable sculptures and terracotta figurines found in the temples of both South and North India.

Though Bengal did not have its own classical dances, it undoubtedly possessed a rich dance form. Ancient Bangla texts contain references to dance, and the terracotta, metal and stone statues found in the ruins of paharpur and mainamati show men and women in different dance postures, similar to classical dance postures. The dances that used to be performed at the Kartik temple at pundravardhana were similar to the dances described in Natyasastra. Dancers like Padmavati, wife of laksmanasena's court singer jaydev, Vidyutprabha and Shashikala were skilled in classical dancing. The story of radha and krishna was also presented through dances. These dances that narrated the story of Radha and Krishna were popular among the Vaishnavas of Kamalganj in East Bengal and Manipur in assam. Later these dances became known as Manipuri dance.

From the 5th to the 12th centuries, that is, during the period of Hindu rule in Bengal, temples were built in different parts of the country. Each temple had the services of devadasis. The main temple at Pundravardhana, for example, had about 800 devadasis. Though the forms of their dances are not known, it can be guessed that the diverse streams of civilisations that flourished in India also flowed into Bengal and influenced its dances.

With the advent of Muslim rule in the 12th century, there seems to have been some stagnation in the cultural field. However, considerable changes started taking place from the middle of the 14th century. Sultan ghiyasuddin azam shah of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty was a patron of culture who encouraged dancing at his court in sonargaon. His court dancers were said to have been brought from Iran. Guests were welcomed at his court with raks-e-gul or the flower dance during which dancers, wearing wide, pleated skirts, red blouses, veils, and gold ornaments, scattered flowers and danced to music.

The fifteenth century saw the introduction of kirtan dance by Sri chaitanya and his disciples at Navadwip. In this dance scantily attired devotees, holding their hands aloft, would sing hymns in praise of Lord Krishna and dance in a circle to the accompaniment of tabors and cymbals.

The Mughal emperor akbar was a patron of music and dance. Mughal miniature paintings and Abul Fazl's ain-i-akbari give vivid proof of the practice of dancing at the Mughal court. Many dance experts and dance masters developed new dances and experimented with new rhythms, tempos and beats. In the courts of Akbar and jahangir, eminent musicologists enriched music; dancers created new forms of dances named husnu, selami, ada, mehabuba, muskurahat, naz and ghunghat. They also changed the dance costumes, replacing men's dhotis and bare bodies as well as women's voluminous skirts and short blouses with Persian-style garments. The dancers also wore caps. This new form of dance was called Kathak. The Mughal emperors were so charmed by the rhythm and elegance of these dances that they brought girls from Central Asia and trained them in this form of dance. These dances also influenced dance in Bengal through the sevadasis.

With the advent of the British, the audience for dance expanded substantially. The standard of dance, however, declined, with dancers themselves being held in disrepute. Professional dancers or baijis were brought in from Lucknow to entertain rajas and maharajas or the English sahibs at 'nautches'. [Amanul Huq]

At the beginning of the 19th century, however, rabindranath tagore helped elevate dance to a position of cultural and aesthetic importance. At Santiniketan dance was not only encouraged, a new genre, Rabindranrtya or Tagore dance, was developed. The seasons were welcomed through dance. After Rabindranath, outstanding dancers like uday shankar of Jessore and Menaka Chowdhury of Barisal helped to further popularise dance, with Uday Shankar making Indian dance world-famous.

After the Partition of India, bulbul chowdhury, who had gained some fame before 1947, made dance popular among Muslims. His wife, Afroza Bulbul, was also a dancer and helped to show that Muslim women could also dance and yet continue to be respectable. Others who contributed to developing and popularising dance in East Pakistan were gauhar jamil, who founded Shilpakala Bhaban in 1948, Sajedur Rahman, Zulfikar, Nizamul Huq and Mrinmay Dasgupta.

With a gradual change in the outlook of conservative Muslim society, middle-class and upper middle-class girls took up dancing. A number of dance dramas, such as Shakuntala, Meghdut, Sonar Nupur, were staged in which educated young women including laila samad, Rokeya Kabir, rawshan jamil, Jaharat Ara, Munimunessa, Kulsum Huda, Naima Ahmed, Lily Khan, Rozy Majid, Momtaz, Meher Ahmed, Zeenat Ahmed, Selina Bahar Zaman took part. Men and women did not dance together, so female artistes played male roles. Apart from Rawshan Jamil who later made a name for herself as a stage and screen actress, most of the other women were amateurs, who went on to other professions.

During the mid-fifties, Sajedur Rahman broke the taboo against men and women dancing together. The language movement gave further impetus to dancing and led to dances inspired by the themes of revolution and Bengali nationalism. This trend got a further impetus during the election of 1954. After the premature death of Bulbul Chowdhury in 1954, his friends and admirers, including Mahmud Nurul Huda, Mohammad Modabber and Begum Anwara Bahar Chowdhury, set up bulbul lalitakala academy (BAFA) to commemorate his memory and to carry on his work in music and dance.

BAFA contributed greatly to the further breaking down of the taboo against dance. Teachers like Ajit Sanyal, Bhaktimay Dasgupta, gazi alauddin mannan, Samar Bhattacharya, and Babu Ramsingh nurtured young talents and helped create a generation of dancers. BAFA staged many dance dramas of Rabindranath Tagore directed by Bhaktimay Dasgupta.

With the setting up of chhayanat in the sixties, a new impetus was added to cultural pursuits. Sanjida Khatun and Wahidul Huq played the main role in organising this institution. Other organisations which contributed to dance at this time were jago art centre of Gauhar Jamil and Nikkan Lalita Academy of GA Mannan. Many young and promising dance artistes graduated from these organisations, among them, Rahiza Khanam Jhunu, Dalia Nilufar, Mandira Nandi, Nargis Morsheda, Alpana Momtaz, Kamal Lohani, Anjali, Laila Khan, Ajit De, Dulal Talukder, Kajal Ibrahim, Minu Huq, Doli Iqbal, Amanul Huq, Pijush Kiron Pal, Selina Mohsin, Zeenat Barkatullah, Lubna Mariam, Pinu Khan, Amir Hossain Babu, Selina Hossain, Jhula Rashid, Mili Kazi, Sharmin Hasan and Laila Hasan. Kathak was popular at this time, partly perhaps in the belief that it was of Mughal, that is, of Muslim, origin.

After 1971, dance became more acceptable. It also became realistic, with artistes and directors trying to reflect life and society through dance. The war of liberation and the independence of the country figured prominently as themes. New efforts were made to portray various facets of life through dance as well as to create a dance that truly reflected the new nation that had come into being. In addition to the earlier organisations, other new organisations including bangladesh shilpakala academy encouraged dance and helped train young people in dance. Many artistes like Pijush Kiron Pal, Rahiza Khanam, Alpana Momtaz, Rawshan Jamil, Jinnat Jahan, Golam Mostafa, Amanul Huq, Hasan Imam, Dipa Khandaker, Shameem Ara Nipa and Shibli Mohammad did some experimental work.

Shibli Mohammad's work specially should be noted. He attempted to rejuvenate the local dance by uniting it with ballet. For example, he used the European style of dance to present Rabindranath Tagore's poem, Jhulan. Other directors have also been trying to create new types of dances. Dipa Khandaker is prominent among them, as is Nataraj. They were also the first to present dances at the shaheed minar.

With the establishment of Shilpakala Academy after independence, opportunities for dance artistes have increased. Branches of the Academy have been set up throughout the country, and scope for dancing has expanded further. Many dance artistes have gone to India for higher training on scholarships and, on their return, have added new dimensions to dance. Among the prominent dance artistes today are Belayet Hossain Khan, Sukla Sarker, Sarmila Bandyopadhyay, Saju Ahmed, Soma Momtaz, Shibli Mohammad, Aminul Islam Hiru, Tamanna Rahman, Munmum Ahmed, Tabassum Ahmed, Biplab Kar and Baby Rozario. Bangladesh Television televises dance programmes on important occasions. It also telecast Rumjhum, a programme teaching dance, during 1983-85 and 1994-95.

Both classical and folk forms of dance coexist in Bangladesh. While Kathak had been popular before 1971, other classical dance forms like Bharatnatyam, Odissi and Manipuri are becoming popular as well. Odissi dance was almost unknown in Bangladesh. In the past few years, however, Indian experts have offered training to Bangladeshi dance artistes and thus made this dance form increasingly popular in Bangladesh.

The emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation has also encouraged the development of new forms of folk dance showing rural activities such as sowing, reaping, threshing, etc or narrating the people's story of the Liberation War. Receptions, especially those for foreign dignitaries, usually have a number of dance items inspired by the history and culture of Bangladesh. Celebrations welcoming spring or summer include seasonal dances. Dance is also an indispensable part of jatra as well as commercial films. [Laila Hasan]