Saila Dance

Understand

Where Saila Dance comes from

Saila dance is a folk dance of the Gond tribes of the Mandla, Dindori and adjacent districts of Madhya Pradesh (Bastar region). It is a stick-balance dance performed at the harvest festival (Pola and other agricultural celebrations) and at marriages. The Saila is one of the most physically dramatic of the central Indian folk dances, with the dancer leaping between raised wooden stumps or staves struck into the ground, the height of which is increased as the dance progresses. The dance is recognised by the Government of Madhya Pradesh as one of the state's distinctive folk traditions.

How it's practiced

Saila dance is performed by men, traditionally of the Gond community, dancing on raised wooden stumps or staves struck vertically into the ground. The performer begins at a low stump and progresses through increasingly higher stumps, jumping from one to the next with controlled acrobatic steps to the rhythm of the dhol drum. The dance requires considerable balance and courage, and a successful performance is a mark of physical skill within the community. Costume is the everyday Gond dress — colourful turban (for some variants the distinctive phenta), dhoti and waist-belt. Performances take place at the Pola harvest festival, at weddings and at large community gatherings.