19-Jan-2022: Winners of Vande Bharatam, Nritya Utsav competition gearing up to enthrall audiences at the Republic Day 2022 parade at Rajpath

The winners of Vande Bharatam, Nritya Utsav Grand Finale are gearing up to enthrall the audiences at the Republic Day 2022 parade at Rajpath, New Delhi on 26th January. The rehearsals for the grand performance have been taking place with full enthusiasm at Rajpath and Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium , New Delhi.

The winners are being trained by the four renowned choreographers. These include Kathak Dancer Ms. Rani Khanam, along with Ms. Maiyetree Pahari, Ms. Tejaswini Sathe, and Mr. Santosh Nair who are giving training to 36 teams who have come from different states.

The 480 performers have been selected by the Ministry of Culture through a four level Vande Bharatam-Nritya Utsav competition. The Grand Finale of the Vande Bharatam-Nritya Utsav, a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav was held in New Delhi on 19th December, 2021

The Vande Bharatam competition began at the district level on November 17 and saw the participation of more than 3,870 contestants in 323 groups. Those who cleared the screening at the district level took part in the state-level competition from November 30, 2021. More than 20 virtual events were conducted for the state-level competition over a span of 5 days till 4th December 2021

Over 2,400 participants from 200 plus teams were short-listed for the zonal level competition. The zonal finals took place at Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi from 9th to 12th of December where 104 groups displayed their dance prowess before an august jury and applauding fans. Participating groups performed specially choreographed acts in various dance categories like classical, folk, tribal, and fusion. They will now give a performance on Republic Day where all the groups will merge into a one whole, yet retaining the identity of individual dance forms, in the true spirit of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat.

Of these 104 groups,73 groups comprising 949 dancers from all 4 zones made it to the Grand Finale, which was held in Delhi at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Auditorium on 19th of December.

Top 480 dancers were declared as winners from the Grand Finale and they will perform on the Republic Day Parade to be held at Rajpath, New Delhi on 26th January 2022.

This is the first time that teams are selected for Republic Day Performance at Rajpath through an All India dance competition with the aim of enhancing Jan Bhagidari.

20-Dec-2021: Grand Finale of the Vande Bharatam-Nritya Utsav, a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav held in New Delhi on 19th December.

The grand finale of the ‘Vande Bharatam - Nritya Utsav’, an All-India dance competition as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to commemorate 75 years of independence of India was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium - Auditorium in New Delhi on Sunday, 19th December 2021. Delhi's International Academy of Mohini Attam, Jai Ghosh Dance Group, Rekha Dance Group were some of the total 36 teams who won. Apart from this, Girls Giddha Team and Boys Bhangra Team of Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab; Supriya Dance Group, and Om Shree Vinayak Group of Uttar Pradesh and Sanskar Sanskriti Evan Paryavaran Sanrakkchhan Samiti of Uttarakhand were some of the other winners at the final competition

The Grand Finale was attended by the Minister of State for Culture and External Affairs Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi along with other renowned personalities from the field of art and culture like Smt. Ila Arun, Smt. Shibani Kashyap, Smt. Pratibha Prahlad and Smt. Shovana Narayan. The Grand Finale was judged by an esteemed jury including Smt. Geetanjali Lal, Smt. Maitreyee Pahari and Shri Santosh Nair. The event also included a star performance by the renowned dancer Smt. Tanusree Shankar & her troupe and by Smt. Rani Khanum and her troupe.

Addressing on the occasion, Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi said, ‘Organising Vande Bharatam with Jan Bhagidari was the wish  of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, and accordingly this All-India event has been organised  in which dancers from all over the country participated enthusiastically.’ She further said that this program bring out the unity and integrity of India and is a step towards advancing the civilizational culture of India. Smt. Lekhi said that India’s rich culture attracts people from all over the world and we must take pride in it. Vande Bharatam has been organised to  bring out the best dancing talent from various corners of the country and showcase it at a national platform, she added.

Over 2,400 participants from over 200 teams were shortlisted for the zonal level competitions which were organized from 9th to 12th December in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and New Delhi where the groups showcased their dance skills in front of an esteemed jury and won the appreciation of the fans. The participating groups presented exclusively choreographed dances in the selected dance categories for the competition, namely, classical, folk, tribal, and fusion.

The winners from the Grand Finale will now perform at the cultural program at the Republic Day Parade to be held at Rajpath (New Delhi) on 26th January 2022. In the finale, over 800 artists from 64 teams selected from across the country gave their final performances.

Top 36 teams from across the length and breadth of India were declared winners at the Grand Finale and were felicitated with certificates.

15-Dec-2021: Vande Bharatam Final Competition to be held in New Delhi on 19th December
73 groups comprising 949 dancers from North, South, East, West zones have made it to the Grand Finale of ‘Vande Bharatam-Nritya Utsav’, an All-India dance competition being organized under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. The Final will be held in New Delhi at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Auditorium on 19th of December. The Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Culture had announced the launch of ‘Vande Bharatam-Nritya Utsav’, as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to commemorate 75 years of independence of India. It is a unique initiative based on Jan Bhagidari whose prime objective is to select the top dancing talent from across the country and provide them the opportunity to perform during the Republic Day Parade 2022.

In the Grand Finale, the dancers will vie for the grand honor and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to display their talent at the Republic Day Parade which is watched not only in India, but across the globe.

Over 2,400 participants from 200 plus teams were short-listed for the zonal level competitions. where 104 groups displayed their dance prowess before an august jury. Participating groups displayed their dance prowess before an august jury. Participating groups performed specially choreographed acts in various dance categories like classical, folk, tribal, and fusion. One experienced rich display of talent and colourful attires from across India. There was enthusiastic participation from all sections of the society across categories highlighting the spirit of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat.

12-Nov-2021: Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi launches an All-India dance competition ‘Vande Bharatam-Nritya Utsav’ as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav

The Ministry of Culture will hold a ‘Vande Bharatam- Nritya Utsav’, an All-India dance competition as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The objective of this competition is to select dancers who will perform during the cultural programme at the Republic Day Parade of 2022. The final performance will take place on January 26, 2022 at Rajpath, India Gate. The Minister of State for Culture Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi announced this during a press briefing today in New Delhi. On this, occasion Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi also launched the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav App.

Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi informed media that Vande Bharatam group dance competition will start from 17th November 2021 at district level. Competition will be held at District, State, Zone and Inter-Zone/National Levels and final National Level competition will be organised on 19th December 2021 in Talkatora Stadium New Delhi. Participants can perform in four categories Classical, Folk, Tribal and Fusion/Contemporary. 480 dancers will be eventually selected as winners from the National level. These 480 dancers will perform during the cultural performance at the Republic Day Parade.

The Minister said that the Prime Minister has envisioned Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav in the spirit of Jan Bhagidari. It is important to take the celebrations and programmes to the grassroot level involving the people across the country. Also, connecting the youth to our heritage and culture is an essential component of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, she explained.

Smt Meenakashi Lekhi also emphasized the need to highlight the unsung heroes of freedom struggle. She further added that we have to take the entire country forward with a spirit of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat.

Smt Lekhi also informed that Culture Ministry has developed a website and mobile application especially for this event; which will cover all aspects of the event and provide information regarding the competition to the people. “District level participation will be accepted through the website and/or mobile application. This will showcase the guidelines and other useful information regarding the competition”, She added.