The principle occasion for the performance of Chhau in Mayurbhanj, as in Seraikella is the Chaitra Parva, which comes about the middle of April every year. Chaitra is the month for dancing and on the 25th of Chitra month, the dances start after invocation of Lord Shiva.

In Chhau dances, there are many dance forms depicting nature and animal world such as Mayura Nritya or Peacock dance, Sagara nritya or Ocean dance, Sarpa Nritya or serpent dance etc. The Harvest dances and also stories from Ramayana, Mahabharatha are depicted quite often. The themes of the dance are taken from mythology, everyday life, aspects of nature and at times the dance is simply the delineation of a mood, state or condition.