Garba and Dandiya for Dummies

What to wear Rules
1. Preferably traditional outfits.
2. Its a great place and occasion to flaunt your jewellery so wear tons of it. You will never look out of place.
3. Everything goes. The sexier you can look the better. Everybody is checking everybody else out.
4. Its a good idea to make sure your ghagra/chania is not sweeping the floor. Its not comfortable while dancing at all,it will keep getting in your way.
5. If you are wearing a sari, tie it so tight its hurts . It WILL LOOSEN up when you dance. Also make sure its above the ankle. Some fool with two left feet WILL WANT to step on it and trip over and fall and take you with him and your sari WILL be in great peril.

Basic etiquette
1. Always smile at the person in front of you. You are there to enjoy. Your next paycheque does not depend on how well you dance.
2. Its a social event. If someone smiles and says Hi please reciprocate.Even if you dont know the person.
3. If someone does not know how to dance, dont give them snooty "get out of the way" looks.
4. If someone wants to join the group, make room for them. Dont close yourself in tight little goups. You can do that at home.
5. When you are joining in a dandiya group, ALWAYS join with a partner. Else the circle breaks and its very frustrating for the people who are dancing.

Dandiya Tips
1. Its DANCE not WAR.
2. Jumping out of beat puts you and your partner/neighbour at the risk of getting hurt.
3. You don't NEED to jump high to look good. Graceful moves work just as well.
4. You don't HAVE to HIT the dandiya stick. Its okay to miss. But watch where you are going with the stick please. There are unwitting innocent souls around you. When you do hit the stick, you DONT HAVE to hit HARD. Touching it and making the clicking sound is good enough.
5. Always play with the person in front of you. Finish, move to your left two places. Which means you play with every ALTERNATE person.

Tips for Garba
1. If you are new, its a good idea to join the slower inner circle first and get a hang of the beat.
2. Hand movements look lovely. WATCH where you swing your arms.
3. Again, jumping and dancing are not the same thing. Either ways, watch your step. You may trip over someone or worse still trip someone over if you are not watching where you are going.
4. ABCDs (no offence meant) often come prepared to show off. Dont be intimidated. Decide what you want to do and stick to it. Its all about adding your personal flavour to the staid beats.
5. Garba is a desi version of Mambo-cha-cha-cha. Try it.

P.S
Garba is without sticks and dandiya is with sticks :-) !
And oh, no shoes/high heels inside the dancing area please. Apart from the religious aspect that you are dancing around the deity (which is not as much my concern, your piety or lack of it is your problem), your high heels/ bulky sneakers are not fun when someone accidentally gets kicked or stepped on.(now this is every bit my concern)