Kauda Fold Dance: A Study of the Changes of Its Urban Performance
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Central Department of English
Abstract
In Nepal, the folk performances from stage to screen retrace a link from the country t
the city, a circular movement of visual arts from the indigenous folk tradition to the
world of popular culture. Popular among Gurungs and Magars in the western Nepal,
folk dance, kaura is often performed at entertainment houses on hills and stages in
theaters in cities, which have been promoted in films and television programs in
recent decades. In recent years, the folk dance kaura in bars and hotels connect
economics and culture, work and art, and country and city. In the past, folk
performers on hills used to dance at nights after their daylong works; these days,
professional dancers perform at clubs and hotels to entertain guests and visitors for
their daily earnings. Nepal has a very rich tradition of folk dances. Every region
manifests different cultural feature. Tanahun, the land of indigenous ethnic
community, songs and folk dances, vividly depicts the life in its variegated color with
joys and sorrows, ups and downs in melodious tunes. The present research work
exposes the ways the indigenous ethnic performances become popular with economic
interests and social functions. It retraces changes in folk dances when performed in
restaurants, bars, colleges along with festivals, locally and abroad. What are the
effects of the participation in community art? It also explicates how people’s leisure
time activities, such as singing and dancing have been connected to their economic
interests and indigenous lifestyles.