Dances of Bangladesh

The dance styles of Bangladesh may be divided into three categories, classical,folk and modern. For many Bangladeshi people, dance is one of the crucialthreads that bind past, present & future. Institutions like the Chhayanat, BulhulAcademy' of Fine Arts & the Shilpakala Academy have helped popularize dance inBangladesh.Unlike other Indian provinces, Bengal had no particular dance styles of its own.Bengali artistes learned classical dancing from teachers coming from south India,Madhya Pradesh & Manipur. During British rule, classical dancing was patronizedby rajas, maharajas, nawabs & zamindars as well as by British sahibs who held'nautches' in their private chambers.