Department of Dance:
Established in July 1950, the Department of Dance became part of the College of Indian Music, Dance and Dramatics, M.S.University of Baroda. The Department uniquely amalgamates the traditional practice of art-dance teaching, i.e. the guru-shishya parampara, with the contemporary practice of art education. The best features of the guru-shishya parampara, and modern educational methods were interwoven to construct a comprehensive and professional course in Dance.It encouraged independent thought, bold experimentation and intense research activity.
The department puts equal emphasis on the theory and practice of dance. Students are groomed to be not only dancers but also accomplished teachers, critics, historians and artistes.Two dance styles Bharatanatyam and Kathak are taught in the department. The base of Bharatanatyam remains the Kalakshetra school as the pioneers, Late Mohan Khokar and Anjali Merh, trained there. Even the Tanjore school had been absorbed too. In Kathak, the training remains Jaipur Gharana as the course was started by Late Pandit Sunderlal Gangani and has been carried on by his family. Along with performances of kathak and Bharatanatyam, the department also encourages training in and performances of folk and Modern creative dance.
The Department has in its list number of dance dramas like Shri Chandramauliswara Kuravanji, Ramayana, Ritu-Samhara, Bhumija, Shakuntal Chetana, Mukti and many more.
The Stalwarts like Great Nattuvanar Guru Shri Kubernath Tanjorkar, Padmabhushan Prof.C.V.Chandrashekhar Guru Shri Sundarlal Gangani were the Strong Pillers of the Department. Guru Shri Kubernath Tanjorkar and Guru Shri Sunderlal Gangani both hailing from families with traditional links with music and dance, contributed greatly in creating a strong base of training in the department. The late Mohan Khokar , the first head of the department , laid a solid foundation for research and theory. Anjali Merh continued his work and took the department to glorious heights.Other teachers who remain unforgettable for their work in the department are shri Kundanlal Gangani, Smt. M. K Saroja, Ms. Nargis Katpitia, Ms. Umadevi Datta, Smt. Prafulla Oza, Shri Pradeep Barua, Smt. Jyotsna Mehta, Shri. N. R. Pillai, Prof. Dr. Parul Shah, Smt. Juthika Mahen, Shri Harish Gangani, Smt. Narayani Shah and Prof. Dr. Jagdish Gangani. The present teaching staff are Dr. Smruti Vaghela, Dr. Ami Pandya, Dr. Preeti Damle, Dr. Divya Patel, Ms. Dhwani Mhaskar, Ms. Dyuti Pandya, Ms. Tripti Gupta and Ms. Jignisha Vaidya .