The ladies danced beautifullyред Young girls also grooved their feet on Dandiya but they did not forget to enjoy some foot-tapping Bollywood numbersред Raas or Dandiya Raas is the traditional folk dance form of Vrindavan, India, where it is performed depicting scenes of Holi, and lila of Krishna and Radhaред Along with Garba, it is the featured dance of Navratri evenings in Western Indiaред
There are several forms of Raas, but "Dandiya Raas", performed during Navaratri in Gujarat is the most popular formред Other┬а forms of Raas include Dang Lila from Rajasthan where only one large stick is used, and "Rasa lila" from North Indiaред Raas Lila and Dandiya Raas are similarред Some even consider "Garba" as a form of Raas, namely "Raas Garba"ред
In Dandiya Raas men and women dance in two circles, with sticks in their handsред In the old times Raas did not involve much┬а singing, just the beat of Dhol was enoughред "Dandiya" or sticks, are about 18" longред Each dancer holds two, although some times when they are short on Dandiya they will use just one in right handред
Generally, in a four beat rhythm, opposite sides hit the sticks at the same time, creating a nice soundред One circle goes clockwise and another counter clockwiseред In┬а the west, people don't form full circles, but instead often form rowsред
