The Kuchipudi dance belongs to which of the following states?

Correct — D. Kuchipudi is named after the village of Kuchipudi in coastal Andhra Pradesh. The form carries its own birthplace in its name, and that is the whole of the answer.

It is one of India's classical dance forms, performed as a dance-drama with sung Telugu verse, and tradition credits Siddhendra Yogi with shaping it into the form now taught.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Tamil Nadu — Tamil Nadu's classical form is Bharatanatyam, rooted in the temple traditions of the Tanjore region. A different form, a different state.
• (b)
  Madhya Pradesh — Madhya Pradesh contributes no form to the classical list. Its performing traditions are folk, and SSC's dance items are drawn from the classical set.
• (c)
  Manipur — Manipur's classical form is Manipuri, whose Ras Leela cycle draws on the Radha-Krishna story. Like Kuchipudi's, that name is its own address.

Several Indian classical dances name their own home, and Kuchipudi is the clearest case: a village name that became the name of the form.

It grew as a dance-drama in Telugu, performed by a troupe with sung verse and spoken passages, and only later acquired a solo repertoire.

Learn the classical list as state-and-form pairs. Once Bharatanatyam with Tamil Nadu, Kuchipudi with Andhra Pradesh, Odissi with Odisha, Manipuri with Manipur, Sattriya with Assam, Kathakali and Mohiniyattam with Kerala and Kathak with the north are fixed, an item like this one collapses to a single line.

Key facts

• Kuchipudi takes its name from a village in coastal Andhra Pradesh.
• Kuchipudi is one of the classical dance forms recognised in India.
• Siddhendra Yogi is traditionally credited with shaping Kuchipudi.
• The tarangam, danced on the rim of a brass plate, is a Kuchipudi signature.

Common traps

• Pairing Kuchipudi with Tamil Nadu because both are southern dance traditions.
• Looking for a classical form in a state that has only folk forms.

No directly related past PYQ was found.