page_title: Culture of Chennai
section_title: Music, dance and drama
hierarchical_section_title: Culture of Chennai / Music, dance and drama
caption_attribution_description: English: Bharatanatyam dancer Rama Vaidyanathan
context_page_description: Popularly called the "Gateway to the South India", the culture of Chennai is distinct from that of any other Indian city. Being a cosmopolitan hub, the city's culture reflects its diverse population that has resulted in a unique blend. Though a modern metropolis, Chennai continues to be traditional and conventional in certain ways. Traditional music, dance and all other art forms of Tamil Nadu are very popular in the city. One can find a peculiar cultural blend in city, from traditional foods to fast foods, from ancient temple architecture to modern high-rises, and from classical music and dance to the growing nightlife.
context_section_description: The city is known for its classical music shows. Every December, Chennai holds a five-week-long Music Season, which has been described as one of the world's largest cultural events. The Music Season encompasses performances (kacheries) of traditional Carnatic music by hundreds of artists in and around the city. This happens during the Tamil season of Margazhi and this period is a festive and joyous time in chennai. The mercury lies in the low twenties and the music rendered by the great musicians is soul-stirring and sensational. Carnatic music makes the December season a must-experience for visitors to Chennai.
  Chennai is also known for the classical Indian dance, the Bharatanatyam, which is also the official dance of Tamil Nadu. An important cultural centre for Bharatanatyam is Kalakshetra (Sanskrit for "place of the arts"), located on the beach in the south of the city.
  Chennai has a vibrant theatre scene, with a large number of Tamil plays being performed. Political satire, slapstick comedy, history, mythology and drama are some of the popular genres of Tamil plays.  Prominent theatre personalities include Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar, K.S. Nagarajan, Cho Ramaswamy, Indira Parthasarathy, R.S. Manohar, N. Muthuswamy,  English theatre is also popular in Chennai.Evam, a popular English theatre company is based in Chennai. They are the logistics partners of The Metroplus Theatre festival which is held by a leading newspaper of the city, The Hindu, every year around July and August. A number of other English theatre companies like Unarviyam, Stray Factory, Theatre Y, ASAP productions, Still Water Productions, Boardwalkers, Masquerade - the performance group, Theatre Nisha, Rebelz, Stagefright Productions and last but not the least, India's oldest English theatre company,Madras Players stage plays throughout the year. Over the last four years, Chennai has become active in theatre activities. School and college cultural festivals (locally called culfests) play an important role by providing platforms for the city's youth to indulge in art and culture. These culfests attract participants from around India. Some of the larger culfests in the city are Instincts(SSN College of Engineering), Saarang (IITM), Techofes (College of Engineering, Guindy), Deep Woods (MCC), Kalakrithi (ACT), Mitafest (MIT) and Down Sterling (Loyola).
  Madras youth choir, based at Chennai - the oldest Indian choral music group in India started by M B srinivasan, presents many programmes through the year.
  Also present is an established and growing culture of bands in western and other styles. Predominantly these are 'student bands', although there are professional bands such as The LBG.  While the student bands are most visible in cultural fests and other competitions, pro-events like the June Rock Out, organised by the Unwind Centre, are dominated by established bands.
  The mylapore webportal dedicated to Arts & Culture of Chennai, music, drama, awards and events.
caption: A Bharata natyam concert
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