National dance museum to come up in Kerala

A national dance museum, showcasing the evolution, heritage and diversity of dance forms in India and abroad, claimed to be the first such in the country, will be thrown open to art buffs here on October 2.
The museum is an initiative of city-based Guru Gopinath Natanagramam, an institution under the state Department of Culture.
Named after late dance exponent Guru Gopinath, the Guru Gopinath National Dance Museum has been set up in a sprawling two acre campus at nearby Vattiyoorkavu.
The museum is envisaged as a centre for display, documentation, dissemination,education and research,pertaining to the heritage of dances in the country and the world.

Natanagramam officials said visitors would get an in-depth picture of dance at the museum through thematic exhibitions containing statuettes, models and collections of various dance forms, costumes, photo galleries, audio-visual presentations, memorabilia, musical instruments and other materials.
A senior official said the museum would also provide avenues for research, and teaching in dance.

"Our plan is to bring all information regarding dance in India and abroad under one umbrella. GGNDM is the first such museum dedicated to dance in India," Natanagramam secretary James Sunny told PTI.
He said the museum has a number of facilities ranging from wax galleries to 5D theatre.

The galleries would host life size statuettes of dance maestros in full costume while the 5D theatre will have short 5D movies on various dance forms shown at periodic intervals.
Exbibits on themes like 'history and evolution of dances', 'tribal dance of Kerala', 'folk dances of Kerala', 'classical and temple dances of Kerala', 'dances of India' and 'dances of the world' would be informative, he said.
A 20 foot high statue of sage Bharata would be an added attraction at the museum campus, he said.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will inaugurate the museum in a function on October 2.