Punjabis Folk Dance Bhangra Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Punjabis Folk Dance Bhangra - Research Paper Example Punjab folk singers have also developed bhangra in United Kingdom. Major Punjabis’ migrations to the United Kingdom led to the spread of bhangra music, thus making it popular in Britain (Katz 33). However, it was heavily influenced by rock sounds infusion in Britain as well as the need to do away with the repetitive, simple Punjabi folk music. Furthermore, it triggered the development of Asian British youth culture which was distinctive and more self conscious. This culture revolved around experimental sense of gesture, language, desires and bodily signification in situations of tension between racist elements and British culture that had signaled alienation of minority ethnic groups. This situation fostered the need for positive culture and identity affirmation and gave way for Punjabis males in Britain to show their masculinity. Another factor that has helped in the survival of Bhangra is involvement of women in the dance in the second generation in south Asian America where women are increasingly using bhangra to define their cultural identity (Katz 33). As opposed in the past, it was purely a male dance that involved intense and strong movements. 1980s was the golden era for Bhangraheads with melody as the primary emphasis where it was played out on a harmonium, synthesizer, guitar or accordion; the composer received very many fans which exceeded those of the vocalist. The music was also independent of the used instruments (Sharma 77). This made it easy to be played by many communities’ world wide using own instruments. Further more, it gave room for the artists and other performers to use instruments of their own choice and which they were comfortable in. therefore, many people irrespective of their... The research offers a variety of ways of looking at the dance, including a consideration of the culture's history, environment, economics and worldview. Sometimes additional percussions including the tabla were used to accompany the dhol and dholki although it was less frequently used as a solo instrument. The bhangra lyric majorly cover social issues such as love, money, relationships and marriage and is always sung in Punjabi language. The lyrics are mostly tributes to the rich cultural traditions of the Punjabis especially those ones devoted to Punjabi pride, themes and Punjabi heroes. Many of the bhangra tracks are written about Udam Singh and Bhagat Singh. This paper makes a conclusion that Like Bhangra dance, ballroom dance is also popular in the whole world but it is more entertaining. It is also a dance for the elites while Bhangra is a dance for people from all social backgrounds. Similarly, it has many dance styles and techniques and also uses a variety of instruments. Ballet dance is however common in Russia and France, though it is slowly penetrating in other countries. Folk dances are performed at social events just like bhangra but are performed in dance groups. Folk dances are performed differently by different communities from various parts of the world. From the Moroccan Muslims, Indian folk, to Scottish dances, they all have their own charm and beauty. Theses dances have their own different styles that differentiate them from others.