Rainbow Lives held a Gujarati Stick Dance Workshop on 4.8.09 in Kirkcaldy, Fife.  Participants had an opportunity to wear saris and perform the dance to Gujarati music.

Today the dance is performed at Hindu Festivals and wedding celebrations and nowadays has combined modern 'disco style' steps and moves.

Traditionally the dance was performed at 'Navratri' the nine night's festival, celebrating the victory of good over evil.  Participants form a circle around the shrine of goddess Durga (goddess of strength and energy), goddess Lakshmi (goddess of wealth) and Saraswati (goddess of knowledge) and dance with sticks in two circles. The dance is also performed in rows where partners face each other and beat the sticks in time to music.

The sticks used in this workshop or 'dandiya' as they are called in Gujarati were decorated by some of the participants before the event.

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