Swang (dance drama)

Music of India
A Lady Playing the Tanpura, ca. 1735 (Rajasthan)
Genres
Traditional Classical Carnatic Hindustani Folk Baul Bhajan Odissi Rabindra Sangeet Thumri Dadra Ghazal Qawwali Chaiti Kajari Sufi Modern Bhangra Filmi Pop Rock Bengali Raga Blues Jazz Trance
Media and performance
Music awards	Filmfare Awards Punjabi Music Awards Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Music festivals	Saptak Festival of Music Chennai Music Season Dover Lane music festival Tyagaraja Aradhana
Music media	Sruti The Record Music Magazine
Nationalistic and patriotic songs
National anthem	Jana Gana Mana
Regional music
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Ancient Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal

Saang (Hindi: सांग), also known as Swang (meaning "initiation") or Svang (स्वांग), is a popular folk dance–theatre form in Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. Swang incorporates suitable theatrics and mimicry (or nakal) accompanied by song and dialogue. It is dialogue-oriented rather than movement-oriented. Religious stories and folk tales are enacted by a group of ten or twelve persons in an open area or an open-air theatre surrounded by the audience.Swang as an art of imitation means Rang-Bharna, Nakal-Karna.

Swang can be considered as the most ancient folk theatre form of India. Nautanki, Saang, Tamasha originated from the Swang traditions.Old Swang traditions are:

-means one male and one female performers start the story.

- means one saangi player and one dholak player joins the performance. This Swang/Saang performance was active at the time of Sant Kabir and Guru Nanak.

Tradition credits Kishan Lal Bhaat for laying the foundation of the present style of Swang about two hundred years ago. During Mughal period and specifically at the time of Aurangzeb women were strictly banned from public performances. Since women did not participate in the dance-drama form, men have traditionally enacted their roles.Later on different performers changed the style according to the socio-political situations.

Stage is similar to operatic performance.The stage may consist of a clear circular open area, or at the most, a wooden platform about three and a half metre in length. There are no elaborate stage arrangements similar to modern dramatic performances. There are no backdrops, curtains or green-rooms. Typically, there are no microphones or loudspeakers either. An hour or so before the show, the musicians of the orchestra begin to sing religious or other songs connected with the play in order to create the proper atmosphere for the play. The 'Guru' then appears and the artistes touch his feet to evoke his blessings. The play opens with a song ('bhait' or offering) in praise of Bhawani, the Goddess of Knowledge: