Eight classical dances, eight states

Two are from Kerala — that's the pair everyone gets wrong.

The question

Which state does Kathakali belong to?

The trick

There are eight classical dance forms. Learn them as dance-and-state pairs, and note the one state that appears twice.

Worked example

1Bharatanatyam — Tamil Nadu
2Kathakali — Kerala
3Mohiniyattam — Kerala (the second one)
4Kuchipudi — Andhra Pradesh
5Odissi — Odisha
6Kathak — Uttar Pradesh and the north
7Manipuri — Manipur
8Sattriya — Assam

So: Kerala

Remember it like this

Kerala gets two: Kathakali with its huge painted faces, and Mohiniyattam, the gentler solo dance. Both begin with a hard 'K' or 'M' sound and both are from the same coast.

In the exam

Kathak and Kathakali sound almost identical but sit at opposite ends of the country — Kathak is northern, Kathakali is Kerala. Read the question letter by letter before answering.

Why it works

Three of the eight carry their home inside the name — Odissi from Odisha, Manipuri from Manipur, Kuchipudi from a village in Andhra Pradesh. That's nearly half the list learnt for free.

Explain this to my childGet the words to teach it, in your language

Try it yourself

0/4 correct

1
Which state is Bharatanatyam from?
Which state is Bharatanatyam from?
2
Which state is Sattriya from?
Which state is Sattriya from?
3
Which state has two classical dance forms?
Which state has two classical dance forms?
4
Which classical dance is from Odisha?
Which classical dance is from Odisha?