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| Classical
Dances
of India |
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Dance in India,
is rooted to age-old tradition. This vast
sub-continent has given birth to varied
forms of dancing, each shaped by the influences
of a particular period and environment.
The nation offers a number of classical
dance forms, each of which can be traced
to different parts of the country. Each
form represents the culture and ethos
of a particular region or a group of people.
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| Bharatanatyam |
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Bharatanatyam
is one of the most popular Indian dances and
belongs to the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
The name is derived from the word "Bharatha",
and is associated with the Natyashastra. It
is believed that Brahma, the first great trinity
of Hindu Pantheon is the Natya Shastra or the
Science of Dancing. Brahma was so moved by the
entreaties of Indra and other devas of heaven
that he used the four Vedas to create Natya
Veda. The Natya Veda or the fifth Veda was bestowed
on Bharata and his disciples who introduced
the art to the mortals on earth. Hence the name
Bharatnatyam.
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| Manipuri
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Manipuri is the classical
dance from the Manipur region in the north-east.
Manipuri is different in many ways from the
other dance forms in India. The body moves with
slow, sinuous grace and the undulating arm movements
flow into the fingers. The dance form evolved
in the 18th century with the advent of the Vaishnava
faith, from earlier ritual and magical dance
forms. Themes from the Vishnu Purana, Bhagvata
Purana and compositions from the Gitagovinda
predominate the repertoire.
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| Kathakali |
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A rich
and flourishing tradition of dance drama belongs
to the South-Western state of Kerala. Kathakali
means a story play or a dance drama. Katha means
story, here actors depict characters from the
epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and from the
Puranas (ancient scriptures). It is extremely
colourful. The dancers adorn themselves with
billowing costumes, flowing scarves, ornaments
and crowns. They use a specific type of symbolic
makeup to portray various roles which are character-types
rather than individual characters.
Various qualities, human, godlike, demonic,
etc., are all represented through fantastic
make-up and costumes.
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The most
striking part of this dance form is that its
characters never speak, its just the lexicon
of a highly developed hand-gestures language
and facial expression which unfolds the text
of the drama. The macro and micro movements
of the face, the movements of the eyebrows,
the eyeballs, the cheeks, the nose and the chin
are minutely worked out and various emotions
are registered in a flash by a Kathakali actor-dancer.
Often men play the female roles, though of late
women have taken to Kathakali.
Present day Kathakali is a dance drama tradition,
which evolved from centuries of highly stylised
theatrical traditions of Kerala, especially
Kudiyattam. Ritual traditions like Theyyams,
Mudiyattam and the martial arts of Kerala played
a major role in shaping the dance into its present
form.
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| Kathak |
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The Kathak dance form is
characterized by rhythmic footwork danced under
the weight of more than 100 ankle bells, spectacular
spins, and the dramatic representation of themes
from Persian and Urdu poetry alongside those
of Hindu mythology. Kathak originated in the
North, but Persian and Muslim influences later
altered the dance from a temple ritual to a
courtly entertainment.
The origins of the kathak style lie in the traditional
recounting of Hindu myths by Brahmin priests
called kathiks, who used mime and gesture for
dramatic effect. Gradually, the storytelling
became more stylized and evolved into a dance
form. With the arrival of the Mughals in northern
India, kathak was taken into the royal courts
and developed into a sophisticated art form;
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through the patronage of
the Mughal rulers, kathak took its current form.
The emphasis of the dance moved from the religious
to the aesthetic.
The word Kathak, derived from 'Katha', literally
means storyteller. In ancient times, storytellers
used song and dance to embellish their narration.
This took the form of Kathakalakshepam and Harikatha
in Southern India, and the form of Kathak in
the north. Around the 15th century, the dance
form underwent a drastic transition due to the
influence of Mughal dance and music. By the
sixteenth century, the tight churidar pyjama
became the staple attire of a Kathak dancer.
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| Odissi |
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Odissi is considered
to be one of the oldest surviving dance forms
based on archaeological evidence. The traditional
dance form of Orissa, Odissi owes its origin
to the temple dances of the devadasis (temple
dancers). Odissi has been mentioned in inscriptions,
depicted on scultures, in temples like the Brahmeswara
and the dancing hall of the Sun Temple at Konark.
In the 1950s, the entire dance form was revitalised,
thanks to the Abhinaya Chandrika and sculpted
dance poses found in temples. Like other Indian
classical dance forms, Odissi has two major
facets: Nritta or non-representational dance,
where ornamental patterns are created using
body movements in space and time. Another form
is Abhinaya, or stylized mime in which symbolic
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hand gestures
and facial expressions are used to interpret
a storyline or theme.
While the form is curvaceous, concentrating
on the tribhang or the division of the body
into three parts, head, bust and torso; the
mudras and the expressions are similar to those
of Bharatnatyam. Odissi performances are replete
with lores of the eighth incarnation of Vishnu,
Lord Krishna. It is a soft, lyrical classical
dance which depicts the ambience of Orissa and
the philosophy of its most popular deity, Lord
Jagannath.
Odissi is based on the popular devotion to Lord
Krishna and the verses of the Sanskrit play
Geet Govinda are used to depict the love and
devotion to God.
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| Mohiniattam |
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Mohiniattam,
the female semi-classical dance form of
Kerala is said to be older than Kathakali.
Literally, the dance of the enchantress,
Mohiniattam was mainly performed in the
temple precincts of Kerala. It is also
the heir to Devadasi dance heritage like
Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi and Odissi.
The word 'Mohini' means a maiden who exerts
desire or steals the heart of the onlooker.
There is a well known story of Lord Vishnu
taking on the guise of a 'Mohini' to enthrall
people, both in connection with the churning
of the milk ocean and with the episode
of slaying of Bhasmasura. Thus it is thought
that Vaishnava devotees gave the name
of Mohiniattam to this dance form.
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| Kuchipudi
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Kuchipudi, the indigenous
style of dance of Andhra Pradesh took
its birth and effloresced in the village
of the same name, originally called Kuchelapuri
or Kuchelapuram, a hamlet in Krishna district.
From its origin, as far back in the dim
recesses of time as the 3rd century BC,
it has remained a continuous and living
dance tradition of this region. The genesis
of Kuchipudi art as of most Indian classical
dances is associated with religions. For
a long time, the art was presented only
at temples and that too only for annual
festivals of certain temples in Andhra.
According to tradition, Kuchipudi dance
was originally performed only by men and
they all belonged to the Brahmin community.
These Brahmin families were known popularly
as Bhagavathalu of Kuchipudi. The very
first group of Brahmin Bhagavathulu of
Kuchipudi was formed
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Their programmes were offerings to the deities
and they never allowed women in their groups. |
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| Kutiyattam |
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Kutiyattam,
the classical theater form of Kerala is
second to none in terms of its antiquity.
It claims to date back to 2000 years of
antiquity and is the enactment of Sanskrit
plays and is India's oldest theatre to
have been continuously performed.
King Kulashekhara Varman reformed the
Kutiyattam in the tenth century AD, and
this form continues the tradition of performing
in Sanskrit. The Prakrit language and
Malayalam in its ancient form have also
been kept alive through this medium. The
repertory includes plays written by Bhasa,
Harsha and Mahendra Vikrama Pallava.
Traditionally, the actors have been members
of the Chakyar caste and it is the dedication
of this group that is responsible for
the preservation of Kutiyattam through
the centuries.
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Nambiars,
a sub-caste of drummers, have been associated
with this theatre as players of the mizhavu
( a pot-shaped, large drum unique to Kutiyattam).
It is the women of the Nambiar community
who act the female characterizations and
play the bell- metal cymbals. While individuals
of other communities do study this theatre
and participate in stage performances,
they do not perform in temples.
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