Kathak is the classical dance form of which state?

The correct answer is Uttar Pradesh. Kathak is the classical dance of North India, and in the list of the eight classical dances recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, it is associated with Uttar Pradesh, where two of its main centres, Lucknow and Varanasi (Banaras), are located.

Kathak began with the kathakars, travelling storytellers who narrated stories from the epics and the Puranas, especially the stories of Krishna, in the temples and villages of North India. During the Bhakti movement, it was strongly influenced by the Raslila of the Braj region, around Mathura and Vrindavan, also in Uttar Pradesh. From the 16th century onwards, it moved into the Mughal courts, where it became more refined and technical. In the 19th century, it flourished in the court of Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh, in Lucknow, where the Lucknow gharana developed under masters such as Thakur Prasad and the brothers Kalka Prasad and Bindadin Maharaj. Kathak has four main gharanas: Lucknow (known for grace and expressive abhinaya), Jaipur (known for powerful footwork and rhythm), Banaras (known for its balance of footwork and expression) and Raigarh (which developed under Raja Chakradhar Singh in present-day Chhattisgarh). Kathak is known for its fast footwork (tatkar), its spins (chakkars), its storytelling (gat bhaav) and its jugalbandi between the dancer and the tabla player. It is accompanied by Hindustani music. Famous Kathak dancers include Pandit Birju Maharaj, Sitara Devi, Shambhu Maharaj, Kumudini Lakhia, Shovana Narayan and Uma Sharma.

About the other options:

• Rajasthan is home to the Jaipur gharana of Kathak, but the dance as a whole is associated with Uttar Pradesh in the classical dance list.
• Madhya Pradesh hosts the Khajuraho Dance Festival, but Kathak is not its dance.
• Bihar is known for Jat-Jatin, Jhijhiya and Bidesia.