In an initiative to commemorate the 75th year of India’s Independence as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Culture have organised the All India Vande Bharatam Dance competition to select the cultural performances from across the different states f the nation.
During the fourth round of zonal level event held in New Delhi, on 12th December at Shah Auditorium, Rajniwas Marg, Civil Lines, the rich dance forms, music, songs of India in classical, folk, tribal and contemporary forms were presented in the presence of Smt Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture . The first Zonal level event was held in Kolkata (9th December 2021) and the second & third level events were held in Mumbai and Bengaluru on 10th and 11th December 2021, respectively.
The event witnessed an amalgamation of dance forms from various parts of the Northern Zone on one platform.A total of 27 qualified groups, with approximately 400 dancers, from the State Level Competitions participated in the event from various States and UT’s of the Western Zone like Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan & Delhi. Participating groups performed specially choreographed acts in various dance categories like classical, folk, tribal, and fusion. Rich display talent across north India was seen here. There was enthusiastic participation from across north India as performers gave mesmerizing performances. The event was judged by renowned performing arts personalities, namely Smt Dhanarani Devi, Smt Nalini Asthana, Smt Kamalini Asthana and Smt Kavita Dwivedi.
The Vande Bharatam competition began at the district level on Nov 17 and saw the participation of more than 3,870 contestants in 323 groups. Those who cleared the screening at the district level took part in the state-level competition from Nov 30, 2021. More than 20 virtual events were conducted for the state-level competition over a span of 5 days till 4th December 2021.
Over 300 groups were selected for the state-level comprising over 3,000 dancers/participants. Thus, for one month, the event allowed all aspirants to showcase their talent to win a slot at the National level.
Over 2,400 participants from 200 plus teams were short-listed for the zonal level competition. Selected teams from this round will progress to the Grand Finale scheduled to be held in New Delhi on Sunday, 19th December. Top 480 dancers declared as winners from the grand finale will perform on the Republic Day Parade held at Rajpath, New Delhi on 26th January 2022.
The Zonal Level competition was seen LIVE on the official Facebook page & YouTube channel of Vande Bharatam along with the website (vandebharatamnrityautsav.in) and mobile application.
