Kerala Dances

Also known as Kaaliyattam, it is a ritual dance popular in North Kerala or the ertwhile Kolathunadu. Theyyam incorporates dance, mime and music.It enshrines rudiments of ancient tribal cultures, which attached great importance to the worship of heroes and ancestral spirits.

This is a solo dance drama mainly centred on the legends of Krishna. Verses are sung and interpreted through mime and dance.

A dozen dancers sing and dance around a lighted wick lamp or 'Nilavilakku' clad in a simple traditional white 'dhoti' and sporting a peacock feather on the turban to add a touch of colour.

Mayippeeli Thookkam, also known as Arjuna Nritham, is a folk dance performance by men. The narrative is mainly based on the Mahabharatha.

Literally, meaning the 'dance of the celestial enchantress', the sensual dance of Mohiniyattam is a distinctive classical dance form of Kerala.

Symbolic of the Goddess's triumph over the demon Daarikan, Mudiyettu is performed by a 'Kuruppu' or a 'Marar' who belongs to the temple-bound communities of Kerala.

Patayani is a week-long ritual dance, held in Kaali temples on the banks of the Pamba river, during the Malayalam months of Meenam and Medam (March-April).

They pray for the prosperity of the family and are intermediaries between the serpent deity and the elders of the 'Nair Tharavadu'.

A socio dance- drama, Theeyattu is performed as part of the 'Kalam' or 'Dhooli Chitram', ritual drawing with coloured powders.