Giddha Dance The Folk Dance of Punjab

Giddha Dance of Punjab

The Giddha dance is viral in Punjab. Many women artists performed this dance with high spirits on various occasions. There is much similarity to the Bhangra folk dance, which is performed by men only. Women only participated in the Giddha dance to show their individuality in society. The folk poetry verses sing during the dance performance. These verses are called bolis.
Giddha dance is derived from the ancient style of ring dancing. In this dance, all the dancers follow the rhythmic drum sounds and form a circle. While the dancers move a process to the drum sounds and ‘Bolis’, ththeyaise their hands to the level of their shoulders and clap in the union. Then, they strike their palms against those of their neighbouring dancers. The drum sound, the clapping hands sound, and folk verses bring richness to the spectators.

Giddha Dance Performance:

During the Gidda dance performance, the dancers sang the ‘bolis’. The tempo of the song rises, and all start dancing. Mimicry is also one of the significant insertions in the ‘Giddha’ dance. One of the girls plays the role of an aged bridegroom and another young bride; one may play a quarrelsome sister-in-law and another humble bride. The themes of the dances are adopted from the personal lives of women. The dance performances also revolve around the village life of a woman; they are spinning cotton, fetching water from the well and grinding. The dance attracts the viewers due to the dancer’s strong movement in a rhythmic way. The activities of the feet are so much quicker that it is difficult for the spectator to observe the signs.

Costumes and Jewelry:

During the dance, the dancers wear dresses in rich colours. The dress colours attract the spectators also. The costumes are Ghagra Choli, lehnga (loose skirt up to ankle length) and Salwar-Kameez. The participants’ embroidered class and heavy jewellery add colours to the dance. They wear the ornaments suggi-phul (worn on the head) to plains (anklets), haar-Pamela, (gem-studded golden necklace), blaze-band (worn around the upper arm) and raani-haar (a long chain made of solid gold).
The Giddha dance is performed during festival celebrations, marriage occasions, and harvesting time. The folk songs called Bolian are the main attraction of the Giddha dance. These are accompanied by the beat of dholak and clapping. While singing the boils, the dancers outpour their resentment, agony, pain, and jealousy at their in-laws and affection and love for their parental homes.