Although there can be music without dancing, there can be no dancing without musical accompaniment. Music therefore is undoubtedly an integral part of dancing. Aside from the vocal support rendered to a dancer, the other musical instruments widely used in Bharatnatyam are the cymbals, violin, veena, flute, tanpura and mridangam. As we all know that the […]
Jayadeva, the renowned Sanskrit poet and lyricist was born in Kenduli, Orissa in the 11th century AD. The works of Jayadeva have had a profound influence on Indian culture. It forms the basis of the Indian classical dance form, Odissi, and has strongly influenced the Bharatanatyam classical dance as well as Carnatic music. Jayadeva was instrumental in […]
Texts on dance assign a definite place to the taladhari or the nattuvanar on a stage. It is relevant to understand his role, his place in a bharatnatyam recital, his qualities and also the actual techniques of playing the talams. The nattuvanar sits with the mridangist to his right and the singer to his left. While […]
The shlokam for the Drishti Bheda is as follows: Samam alokitam sachi pralokitam Nimilite ullokita anuvritte chaivaavalokitam The Viniyogam Of Samam Is: Naatyarambhe thulaayaamcha chaapyanya chinthaa vinishchayeh Aascharyeh devataaroope sama drishti rudhaahruthaa Meaning: Beginning of dance, scale (physical balance), effort to think what the other person is thinking, certainly, surprise to look at the image of […]
Sthanaka are the postures assumed at the beginning and end of an adavu. The Abhinaya Darpanam mentions 6 of these: Aindram Brahma Ekapadam Garuda Nagabandha Samapada The Natya Shastra mentions: Alidha Mandala Pratyalidham Samapadam Vaishaka vaishnava
As the name suggests, shabdam is the first item in a bharatnatyam recital, which has words in it, also commonly called “sabda”. Therefore, it is the first item of a maargam that has abhinaya or expressions in it. Previously called Yashogati in Sanskrit, It is usually in praise of lord Krishna, Rama, Shiva, Muruga or […]
Karana is described in the natyashastra as “hastapaada samaayogaah nrttsya karanam bhavet”. It is a combination of three elements, namely nritta hasta (dance movement of the hands), sthaana (a dance posture for the body) and a chaari (a dance movement of the leg). The karanas form the basis of the adavus. Therefore, each karana was practised as […]
It is a movement of the pada bheda. In this movement, the heels are placed on the ground and the forepart of the foot and toes are raised. It suggests the following acts: Moving with a wound on the forefoot Turning in all directions Being struck by something It is also used in various bhramaris
It is a classification of the Aangiga Abhinaya, which means expressing through the means of the limbs of the body. It includes the following 12 parts of the head. Upanga: The shloka is as follows: Drishti bhru puta taarashca kapolou naasika hanu, Adharo daasana jihwaa cubukam vadanam tatha, Upaangani dwadasaiwa sirasyangantaresu cha, Parshnigulphou tatha aangulyah […]
Tillana: It is the concluding piece of any bharatnatyam recital and is purely a nritta number ending with a short line of Sahityam. In terms of movements, Tillanas have designs in space along straight lines, diagonals, triangles and rectangles. The outstretched arm positions, leg extensions, bhramaris, the pirouettes etc give the tillanas a certain dynamic quality. The […]