Kriti Class 8 Chapter 13, Innovation, Inclusivity and Inspiring Change, shows how rooted dance traditions innovate by integrating martial arts and everyday movements, and how dance welcomes performers across abilities and genders.
What Kriti Class 8 Chapter 13 Covers
Innovation from roots: ‘the deeper the roots of a tree, the higher the branches reach’: knowing a tradition well is what lets a dancer create something new, using movement found everywhere in nature.
Martial arts in dance: Chhau grew out of the phari khanda martial tradition. Kalaripayattu of Kerala, among the oldest martial arts in the world and linked to the Sangam period (600–300 BCE), uses animal stances and the marma knowledge of Ayurveda. Thang-Ta of Manipur, the ‘art of sword and spear’, joins inner energy with outward action.
Pioneers: Narendra Sharma, one of Uday Shankar’s senior students, made over 40 works on social themes, including Kamayani (1970), Wolf-Boy (1977), Antim Adhyaya (1985) and Gandhi (2007). Activity 13.2 asks you to choreograph a dance on a current issue such as cleanliness or climate change.
Inclusivity and change: dance today is made accessible to people of every age and ability; Activity 13.3 asks how to make your dance enjoyable for differently-abled people. In 1985 JNMDA in Imphal premiered Keibul Lamjao, a Manipuri dance on saving the Sangai deer, based on M.K. Binodini Devi’s script. Activity 13.5 researches a transgender dance artist.
Exercises in Chapter 13
- Circle Time discussion prompts and Assessment rubrics at the end of the chapter.
Read Kriti Class 8 Chapter 13 Online
More Chapters
- Previous: Chapter 12: Dance for Well-being
- Next: Chapter 14: A Presentation of Dance and Choreography
- All Art chapters and the other Class 8 books: Class 8 NCERT books 2026-27
- All Class 1 to 12 NCERT Textbooks: NCERT Books PDF (Class 1–12)
- Every book chapter by chapter: NCERT chapter wise PDF
FAQ
Which martial arts are used in Indian dance innovation?
Kalaripayattu from Kerala and Thang-Ta from Manipur, and Chhau grew from the phari khanda tradition.
What is Keibul Lamjao?
A Manipuri dance production by JNMDA, Imphal (1985), based on M.K. Binodini Devi’s script about conserving the Sangai deer.