Indian classical dance, or Shastriya Nritya, is an umbrella term for various performance arts rooted in religious Hindu musical theatre styles, whose theory and practice can be traced to the Sanskrit text Natya Shastra. The Sangeet Natak Akademi recognizes eight Classical dances – Bharatanatyam, from Tamil Nadu Kathak, from Northern and Western India Kathakali, from […]
All the seven classical dances of India have a common genesis, be it Bharatnatyam or any other dance. Today we try to see how Kuchipudi and Odissi are different from each other while sharing many similarities. Kuchipudi is a classical dance that originated in Andhra Pradesh while Odissi developed in the neighbouring Orissa. They both […]
Abhinaya is one of the most important aspects in Bharatnatyam. A Sanskrit term, Abhinaya means to educate, or lead the way towards the audience. The Shloka of the Abhinaya Bhedas according to the Abhinaya Darpanam are described as under: Aangiko Vaachikah tatwadaahaaryah saatwiko aparah Chaturdhabhinaya tatra changiko- angaih nidarsitah Vaachavirachitah kaavya naatakaadishu vaachikah Aaharyo haarakeyura veshaadibhiralamkrtah Saatwikah saattwikaih bhavaih […]
Hand and fingers are used in Bharatnatyam to make a Mudra or a gesture to communicate multitude of things, situations and emotions. There are two kinds of hand gestures, Sanyukta and Asanyukta hasta mudras. The sanyukta hastas are the gestures made by both the hands combined together. These gestures make use of both the palms together to convey the […]
Varnam is the central and most elaborate number in a Bharatnatyam Margam. It is a demanding number testing not only the stamina of a dancer but the training, the skill, the imaginative faculty of a dancer to improvise and to successfully alternate between pure dance and abhinaya. If all these come together this engrossing number […]
Indian classical dances are essentially gesture dance. The Natya Shastra by Rishi Bharata has prescribed the movements and usage of all major and minor limbs depicting various meanings and denoting the when and how to use these gestures to tell a story. In many cultures, including ours, the human body became an instrument of gesture […]
Bharatnatyam, the classical Indian dance form is so much more than merely a type of dance. Ever since its origin thousands of years ago it has also been a powerful medium of communication too. This is further reinforced when we try to trace the origin and history of Bharatnatyam. According to the Natya Shastra, the classical […]
In the Bharatnatyam dance form there exists a rich tradition of devotional pieces in praise of many God and Goddesses of the Hindu religion and mythology. As such there are many items dedicated to Lord Shiva, be it as a Kautubh, a Varnam or a Padam. Today we try to understand an often played Shloka […]
Utplavana is the Sanskrit word which means to spring or leap. Leaping becomes an important step for traversing the stage while performing or at times for conveying something dramatic too. In the theory of Bharatnatyam, the definition of various leaps is given by the Utplavana Bhedas. The shlokam of the Utplavana Bhedas is as follows: ‘Athotplavana […]
In our series of basic grammar of Bharatnatyam, Mandal Bhedas are the various ways of standing, as in straight with both feet together or on one foot and so on. The shloka for this is as follows: SHLOKAM “Sthaanakam chaayataalidham prenkhanapreritaani cha Pratyaalidham swastika cha motitam samasoochikaa Paarshwesoochiti cha dasha mandalaaniritaaneeha” Mandala Bhedas or standing postures with […]