KOCHI: It’s the dance style of the common man and it requires no formal training.
Even if you claim to have two left feet this is one dance form you should try because for dappankoothu all you need is a pretty good ear for music, a sense of rhythm and a complete lack of inhibition.
Be it a fashion show, a dance programme in college or any cultural fest, you will find men and women alike matching their steps to popular dappankoothu numbers, especially hit Tamil songs like ‘Manmadarasa’ and ‘O Podu’.
The pelvic thrusts and rolling of the hips in tune with the beats of the percussion are characteristic of dappankoothu.
Clapping and whistling often accompany this dance form.
Facial expressions are employed for effect by the dancers. For example, the tongue, folded over and held in position with the front teeth, is brought out at regular intervals.
“It’s a wonderful free style form of dance. Anyone can dance the dappankoothu and that’s the simplicity of it. Basically it is a drunkard’s dance. It’s a dance of happiness and it conveys only one emotion - that of happiness,” said Rahul D, a software engineer in the city.
Dappankoothu had its origin among the nomads of Tamil Nadu.
Though its racy and uninhibited style has a distinct Tamil flavour to it, it is popular in other parts of the country too. It’s influence can be seen in most Malayalam songs where our leading heroes dance the dappankoothu way into the hearts of the rural population. Dileep in Meeshamadhavan, Prithviraj in Vellithira and even our mega stars Mammootty, Mohan Lal and Suresh Gopi have shaken a leg to dappankoothu music, which is replete with the beats of the percussion. To appeal to the taste of the common man, music directors have also made an effort to bring the dappankoothu element into their music. Many have realised that it is a sure way to attract the masses.
Music director M Jayachandran says that it is natural that Malayalam music has a Tamil influence because Malayalam is derived from Sanskrit and Tamil.
“We do have dappankoothu style in our music. But we create the beats with the chenda, which is associated with Kerala. It is important to mix the other style of music with ours,” he added.
Dappankoothu has survived the test of time and will be popular as long as there are people with two left feet.
keerthimohan@expressbuzz.com