Indian Dance

• History of classical Indian dance
• Classical Indian dance technique
  bharatnatyam
  bharatnatyam
  bharatnatyam
• Abhinaya in Indian classical dance
• Styles of classical Indian dance: Bharatanatyam
• Classical Indian dancers
• Indian Classical dance recitals
• Classical Indian dance pictures
• Indian dance video clips online
• Indian dance DVD's

Indian Classical dance: the origins

Indian dances

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Classical Indian dance, in particularly Bharatanatyam and Odissi, as Balasaraswati puts it, is an artistic yoga (natya yoga), for revealing the spiritual through the corporeal. Bharatanatyam is the most widely practised of Indian classical dances worldwide, as it is the style that most faithfully adheres to the Bible of the classical Indian dance, the Natya Shastra, and most comrehensively embodies it. It is also the most ancient of all the classical dance forms in India.

The legend and the inspiration

Gods and Godesses pleaded with Lord Brahma for another Veda to be created that would be simple for the common man to understand, which is particularly important in Kali Yuga. Granting their wish, Lord Brahma created the Panchamaveda, the Fifth Veda, or NatyaVeda, a quintessence of the main four Vedas. Brahma took pathya (words) form the Rigveda, abhinaya (communicative elements of the body movements, cf. mime) from the Yajurveda, geeth (music and chant) from Samaveda, and rasa (vital sentiment and emotional element) from Atharvaveda to form the fifth Veda, NatyaVeda. After creating this Veda, Lord Brahma handed it to sage Bharata and asked him to propagate it on earth. Obeying the fiat of Lord Brahma, sage Bharata wrote down Natyashastra. Bharata together with groups of the Gandharavas and Apsaras performed natya, nrtta and nrtya before Siva. It became the most authoritative text on the artistic technique of classical Indian dances, especially classical Indian dances of Bharatanatyam and Odissi.

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The Natya Shastra reads, "When the world had become steeped in greed and desire, in jealousy and anger, in pleasure and pain, the Supreme One (Brahma) was asked by the people to create an entertainment which could be seen and heard by all, for the scriptures were not enjoyed by the masses, being too learned and ambiguous." "This art is not merely for your pleasure, but exhibits cosmic expression (bhava) for all the worlds. This art has been created following the movements of the world in work and play, profit, peace, laughter, battle and slaughter, yielding the fruit of righteousness to those who follow the moral law, a restraint for the unruly, and a discipline for the followers of the rule; to create wisdom in the ignorant, learning in scholars, afford sport to kings, and endurance to the sorrow-stricken; it is replete with the diverse moods, informed with varying passions of the soul, and linked to the deeds of mankind — the best, the middling and the low — affording excellent counsel pastime and all else."

Bharata along with the apsaras and gandharvas demonstrated Classical Indian dance to Shiva who improved and modified the art as demonstrated by Bharata and instructed the science of dance to Thandu Maharishi. This field of dance derived the name Thandava, the Cosmic Dance of Shiva. Shiva instructed Lasya Natya to Parvathi who passed it on to Usha, the daughter of Banasura. Through Usha this art form was passed on to the Gopis of Dwaraka who in turn passed on the same to the maidens of Sowrashtra.

The Gods and the Goddesses, being dancers themselves, have been passing the art of the heavenly dance through many other human channels, whose aptitude, understanding, and personal idiosyncrasies naturally varied from person to person, and created a number of styles ranging from Odissi to Bharatanatyam. Classical Indian dance of Bharatanatyam has been undergoing a lot of change over the centuries (click here to read more). It used to be and is still mostly performed by women dancers. Centuries ago the Hindu temples in South India had dancers-priestesses called devadasis who would sing, dance Dasi Attam (old version of classical Indian dance), play many musical instruments. They were well-versed in Sanskrit and other languages as they had to adapt compositions to suit the audience. The devadasi tradition gradually degraded. Initially, devadasis lead a very strict and celibate life and were not allowed to have a family. As the dance entered the royal courts, the dancers were called Rajanartakis, who performed in the royal courts and gradually became royal concubines. The British colonial rule has completely corrupted the devadasi tradition.

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In the first half of the 19th century much of classical Indian dance of Bharatanatyam was redefined by the contributions of four talented brothers known today as the Tanjore Quartet: Chinniah, Sivanandam, Ponniah and Vadivelu. Styles of classical Indian dance of Bharatanatyam were preserved in practice mostly by the guru's and performers of the Isai Velalar community of Tamil Nadu. The Tanjore Quartet organized all the basic classical Indian dance of Bharatanatyam movements of pure dance into a progressive series, adavus.

Each adavu is a basic unit taught in systematic order and then combined with others to produce choreographed classical Indian dance of Bharatanatyam sequences based upon the rhythmic pattern of a musical composition. The brothers composed new music specifically for classical Indian dance of Bharatanatyam, and introduced a different sequence of items which integrated various aspects of dance and music into a carefully coordinated, aesthetically sound progression. This infusion of creative energy marks the early 19th century as one of the most innovative periods in the history of classical Indian dance. In the 20th century, such prominent personalities as Mangudi Dorairaja Iyer and Krishna Iyer made their significant contributions. The social status and image of classical Indian dance was restored by Rukminidevi Arundale, the founder of Kalakshetra, who started teaching a simplified, Kalakshetra style invented by her after having learnt some of the Pandanallur style of classical Indian dance of Bharatanatyam in a record 3 years' time. Classical Indian dance has undergone much change but is still deeply rooted in the spiritual Hindu heritage. Contemporary classical Indian dancers are both male and female artists. While most learn it as a hobby, very few make it their career and a lifestyle, as it is extremely demanding and complex in terms of dedication and daily practice. While most university degree courses offer mainly a theoretical base in classical Indian dance, there are institutions that offer certificate and diploma courses with the focus on the practical skills.

Most of the contemporary choreographers and dancers may use some of the formal classical Indian dance technique or its elements to stage ballets presenting various themes such as nationalism, unity of religions, the sanctity of the environment, the animal rights activism, the greatness of a king or a political party, or even the delightfulness of Coca-Cola. In Vande Mataram, a dance festival organised under the auspices of Natyarangam, a project of Narada Gana Sabha in 1997 in Chennai, there was a host of topics: evils of the current education system, the caste and reservation systems, threat of nuclear weapons, AIDS, the population explosion, corruption in politics, bribery, religious fanaticism, secularism, the greed for riches, the Chinese aggression, the Dandi March, literacy, agriculture, mechanisation, industrialisation. Most recently, some dancers of Nrityanjali Academy (Andhra Pradesh) managed to draw their divine inspiration even from Condom Songs.

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The true classical Indian dance, it has to be stated clearly, is not a vulgar form of entertainment but a sacred ritual that is supposed to bring the rasanubhava (catharsis, or spiritual upliftment) to the rasika (audience) and the dancer.

Classical Indian dance technique

If we approach classical Indian dance with humility, learn it with dedication and practice it with devotion to God, sringara which brings out the great beauties of this dance can be portrayed with all the purity of the spirit. The flesh, which is considered to be an enemy of the spirit and the greatest obstacle to spiritual realization, has itself been made a vehicle of the divine in the discipline of the dance. Sringara thus is an instrument for uniting the dancer with Divinity. Since the dancer has universalized her experience, all that she goes through is also felt and experienced by the spectator".

Classical Indian dance

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Classical Indian dance comprises three aspects, Nritta, Nritya and Natya.

Nritta are rhythmical and repetitive elements, i.e. it is dance proper
Natya is the dramatic art, and is a language of gestures, poses and mime. cf. Abhinaya
Nritya is a combination of Nritta and Natya

Nritta can be broadly divided into Chari, Karana, Angahara and Mandala.

• One-leg movement are called Chari.
• Two-leg movements are Karana.
• 3 Karanas make a Khanda.
• 3 to 4 Khandas make a Mandala.
• 4 to 9 Karanas make a Angahara.
• 4 to 5 Angaharas also make a Mandala.

108 Karanas and 32 Angaharas are defined in Natyashatra. The 13 Nritta Hastas (see below) are used to perform nritta. The rythmic body movements along with hand gestures are called aduvus. A number of aduvus constitute a jati. Jati will generally end with a Muktaya or Teermana.

There are diferent types of Aduvus: Tattaduvu, Mettaduvu, Nataduvu, Kattaduvu, Kudittamettaduvu, Maiaduvu, Mandiaduvu, Jati, Nadai, Ardi. There are 12 aduvus in each type, making it 120 aduvus in total. Only about 70-80 are generally practised by an average classical Indian dancer. Aduvus are often confused with the 108 Karanas carved in the Chidambaram Temple in Tamilnadu, India.

The entire body is divided into Anga, Pratyanga and Upaanga.

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Pratynaga and Upaangas should move along with the Angas. Anga Lakshana, the movements of body parts, are described below.

• Shirobhedha - Head Movement
• Greevabhedha - Neck Movement
• Drushtibhedha - Eye Movement
• Paadabhedha

  Mandala - Standing Posture
  Utplavana - Leaps
  Bhramari - Circling Movement
  Chari - Leg Movement

Gatibhedha - Charecteristic walks

Hastas or Mudras - Hand Movements:

Asamyuta Hasta
Samyuta Hasta
Deva Hasta
Dashavatara Hasta
Navagraha Hasta
Jaati Hasta
Bandhu Hasta
Nritta Hasta

When all Angas(main body parts) are coordinated (along with pratyanga and upaanga), the classical Indian dancer is said to possess Angashudhi. Anga meaning body parts, and shudhi means perfection or purity. The Natyashastra has shlokas describing how to perform all the above movements.

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The Dance performed by Lord Shiva is known as Tandava, virile aspect. The tandava performed with bliss is called Ananda Tandava. The tandava of the violent and destructive aspect is called Rudra Tandava. There are 7 types of Tandava in classical Indian dance of Bharatanatyam:

• Ananda Tandava,
• Tripura Tandava,
• Sandhya Tandava,
• Samara Tandava,
• Kaali tandava,
• Uma Tandava and
• Gauri Tandava.
  
  There are some classical Indian dance experts who distinguish 16 types of Tandava. Tandava produces vigourous, brisk movements.

When the dance is performed by Goddess Parvathi, it is known as Lasya, where the movements are soft, gentle, graceful and sometimes seen as er  otic. Some classical Indian dance scholars consider Lasya as the feminine version of Tandava. Lasya is of 2 kinds:

• Jarita Lasya and
• Yauvaka Lasya.

Abhinaya in classical Indian dance

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The techniques of communicating a message are Abinaya. Here the emphasis is more on facial expressions and gestures. While some authentic styles of classical Indian dance, such a Melattur style, emphasise a highly expressive, spontaneous and elevated mode of abhinaya, the late Balasaraswaty tradition's abhinaya was extremely subtle and understated, while the Kalakshetra style expressions are largely theatrical. Some contemporary styles, such as the one propagated by Shobana, favour the Bollywood-type expressions.

While gestures can be seen from any distance even in a large dance hall, the subtle facial expressions can only be seen from the front rows. This is the main feature that distinguishes classical Indian dance from the western ballet. Thus, unless a classical Indian dance recital is held in a small hall, a close-up, high-resolution video is the only adequate medium of presenting the Abhinaya. Classical Indian dance is essentially ekaharya performance: a single dancer presenting various characters, regardless of their gender.

The Abinaya is comprised of

• Angikabhinaya
• Vachikabhinaya
• Aharyabhinaya
• Satvikabhinaya

Angikabhinaya : communicating the meaning of the songs using the body, i.e. head, hands, legs, etc. The Bhedas come under Angikabhinaya.
Vachikabhinaya : communicating the story using narrations.
Aharyabhinaya : use of costumes, jewellary, make-up etc.
Satvikabhinaya : expressions of Bhava(moods)


Lord Shiva is praised as the embodiment of the above 4 types of abinaya in this following shloka.

Angikam bhuvanam yasya

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Vachicam sarva vangmayam
Aharyam chandra taradi
tam vande satvikam shivam.

The meaning of the above shloka:

We bow to Him the benevolent One
Whose limbs are the world,
Whose song and poetry are the essence of all language,
Whose costume is the moon and the stars...

In Lord Shiva's well-known pose of NATARAJA:
his right hand holds the drum of creation, symbolising a new awakening
his left hand holds fire, representing destruction of the old order
his other right hand is raised in blessing
the other left hand points to his left foot, which has crushed demon Muyalaka who represents ignorance.

There are nine main or primary emotions, Sthayibhavas, also termed as Rasas (Moods):

• Shringara - Love
• Hasya - Mirth
• Veera - Heroism
• Roudra - Anger
• Bhayanaka - Terror
• Bheebatsa - Disgust
• Adbhuta - Wonder
• Karuna - Compassion
• Shanta - Tranquility

Vatsalya (parental fondling) rasa is also sometimes included as one of the stayibhava.
Vibhava (cause of emotion), Anubhava (effect of emotion) and Sanchari bhava (subordinate emotions) constitute the state of rasa.

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Nayika (the Heroine) and Nayaka (the Hero) bhavas:

The Nayika Bhava
The shastras have classified the basic mental status of woman, the Nayika, into 8 types, Ashtanayika bhavas. These divisions portray the heroine in different situations, express different feelings, sentiments and reactions.

The Ashtanayika bhava are

• Abhisarika
• Kalahantarika
• Khandita
• Proshitapathika
• Swadheenapathika
• Vasakasajjika
• Virahotkantita
• Vipralabda

Abhisarika - She is the one who boldly goes out to meet her lover.
Kalahantarika - She is the one who is repenting her hastiness in quarrelling with her lover, which has resulted in their separation.
Khandita - She is the one who is angry with her lover for causing her dissapointment.
Proshitapathika - She is the one who is suffering and missing her beloved who is away on a long journey.
Swadheenapathika - She is the one who is proud of her husband's or beloved's love and loyalty.
Vasakasajjika - She is the one who is preparing for the arrival of her beloved, by decorating herself and her surroundings to provide a pleasent welcome for her lover.
Virahotkantita - She is the one who is seperated from her lover and is yearning for reunion.
Vipralabda - She is the one who is dissapointed that her lover has not turned up at the tryst as he promised.

• Other classifications of the Nayika bhava in classical Indian dance are:

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  Mugdha - Inexperienced in love.
  Madhya - Partly experienced in love.
  Pragalbha - Mature in the art of love.
  
  This Pragalbha Nayika is further classified as
  
  
• Dheera
• Adheera
• Dheeraadheera

Sweeya - Married and faithful to her husband.
Parakeeya - Married but in love with another man.
Samanya - A free woman, who truly belongs to any man for a price.
Jyeshta - The preferred one.
Kanishta - The other woman.

Further classifications are

• Uttama - Self-controlled and tolerant.
  Madhyama - Literally the middle one, who gives as she gets.
  Adhama - Literally the low one, who has no self restraint.

The Companion to the Nayika plays an important role in any padam, javali or Ashtapadi. This Companion is the one to whom the Nayika will convey her feelings, she is the one who will take the message,if any, from the nayika to the nayaka, she is the one who will sort out the differences between the nayika and the nayaka. This companion is usuallly a girl who is close to the Nayika. The classification of the Companion types in classical Indian dance:

• Daasi - Servant

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• Sakhi - Friend
• Kaaroo - Woman from a lower caste
• Chatriya - Step Sister
• Prativamshini - Neighbour
• Lindini - Saint
• Shilpani - Artist
• Swaa - Nayika herself as a messenger

The Nayaka Bhava
Just like the heroines, the moods and emotions of the hero are also classified into different types. The main types:

• Dheerodaatta eg. Lord Rama
• Dheeroddhata eg. Demon Ravana
• Dheeralalita eg. Vatsaraaja
• Dheerashanta eg. Buddha

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Another classification is:

• Pati - Married and faithful to his wife.
  Upapati - Married but in love with another woman.
  Vaisika - One who pays and enjoys women.

Further Nayaka classification:

• Anukoola - Faithful to the Woman. eg. Lord Rama
  Dakshina - Loves all his wives or women. eg. Arjuna
  Drishta - When rejected, pleads to be accepted by his woman. eg. Vaali
  Shatha - The deceitful one. eg. Lord Krishna

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Most of the ashtanayika bhavas are experienced by the Nayaka also though the depiction of ashtanayika is more than the nayaka. Nayaka's Companion plays an important role too. This companion is categorised into

• Peetamardhana
• Vita
• Cheta
• Vidooshaka

These classical Indian dance elements are also seen as the mystic symbols of Bhakti Yoga. Sringara means love, but this is not confined to rati sringara. There is bhakti sringara and vatsalya sringara besides rati sringara. Even among some of its practitioners, classical Indian dance is often misinterpreted as being limited solely to bhakti. Balasaraswati believed classical Indian dance is based on bhakti and that "it is justified in being called a yoga because it is a spiritual discipline perfecting the mind to thought-free serenity".

 

Styles of classical Indian dance in Bharatanatyam

The distinctive characteristics of the Melattur style of classical Indian dance are:

• natural (spontaneous) and highly expressive abhinayalargest amplitude of movements, which requires a higher degree of flexibility emphasis on sringara bhakti emphasis on crisp adavus, accuracy of jathis/ gathis, fluid variations of patterned korvaisdramatic elements (characterisation)
• original methods of application of principles of "loka dharmi" and "natya dharmi"

The Pandanallur style of classical Indian dance stresses:

• its deep sitting positionsits lasya (feminine dance style) of padams is rather slow and difficult to perform
• it is performed on three levels: in deep sitting positions, on the ground, in standing positions and while moving or jumping.

The Vazhuvoor style of classical Indian dance includes:

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• wide range of dancing pacestatic postures are inserted, most often in the tillana, to break the monotony and to add the variety of rhythmssofter facial abhinayaabhinaya is subtle with more natyadharmi (spontaneous expressions), so the presentation is not "overdone"the adavu's flow smoothly, with rare abrupt movementsextremely elaborate movementsdeep sitting positionsvariety of positions on the floorrich sringar elementslasya dominates tandavathe dancer's body from the waist up is stlightly bent forward leaps are introduced into every jatithe jati's have more korvais (intervals), which creates a suspense effectperformance begins with a Thodaya mangalam in praise of Lord Gnana Sabesar of Vazhuvoor
• the dancer starts the performance while entering the stage from the wings

The modern Kalakshetra style is a simplified form based on Pandanallur and, to some extent, Thanjavoor styles.

• The Balasaraswati style, although derived from the authentic devadasi traditions, is still a relatively recent introduction.
• Note that, most recently, Dr.Padma Subramaniam's school, claiming to be the one which is the most faithfully reflects the techniques described in Natya Shastra, is called Bharatnrityam.

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Classical Indian dancers

In the ancient scriptures, a professional danseuse was called "patra". The AbhinayaDarpana has a sloka that describes Patra Prana Dasha Smrutaha - the ten essential qualitiess of the professional dancer:

1. Javaha (agility), Sthirathvam (steadiness), Rekhacha (graceful lines), Bhramari(balance in pirouettes), Drishtir (glance), Shramaha (hard work), Medha (intelligence), Shraddha(devotion), Vacho (good speech), and
2. Geetam (singing ability).

According to Abhinayadarpanam, one of the two most authoritative texts on Classical Indian dance, a patra must be

• young,slender,beautiful,large-eyed,with well-rounded breasts,self-confident,witty,pleasing,capable of keeping time (following the rhythm)splendidly dressed
• of a happy disposition.

See more details in Natya shastra (XXVII.97-98).

The ten disqualifying criteria according to Abhinayadarpanam:

1. white specks in the apple of the eye scanty hair thick lips pendant breasts being either very fat or very thin, being either very tall or very short being hunch-backed
2. being either voiceless.

Classical Indian dance recitals and arangetram

A classical format, margam (path), of a traditional Indian dance of Bharatanatyam performance, especially important in the graduation performance, or Arangetram, is rather rigidly structured, and reflects the different stages of the dancer's consciousness.

Aranga means raised stage and Etram meansclimbing in Tamil, one of the south indian languages. It is also called Rangapravesha in Kannada, another south indian language, Ranga meaning Stage and Pravesha meaning Enter. Ideally this should be the first public appearance of the classical Indian dancer. This is the occation for the guru to present his/her deciple to the public. This is the testing time for both the guru and the shishya(deciple) as the guru's knowledge and the deciple's talent both are judged by the public. Hence, the guru will decide when the deciple is ready for public graduation. Usually, at least 10-12 years of training is necessary before the classical Indian dancer is ready for Arangetram.

Arangetram was known as Gejjepooje in the old Mysore district, meaning worshiping the jingles in Kannada. For a classical Indian dancer, jingles are considered divine. Formerly, deciples were not allowed to wear jingles till their first public performance when they consecrated the jingles, wore them and then performed.
Accompaniments play a major role in the making of a memorable dance performance.Basic accompaniments comprise a singer, a mridangam player, a violin player and the Natuvanga. Veena, flute and other instruments are optional. These people sit in the corner of a stage or in a place in front of the stage which will be in a lower level than that of the stage. The classical Indian dancer wears lot of jewellery, make-up and a specially stitched dress. Jingles are a must. Usually duration of an arangetram will be 2 1/2 - 3 hours. To perform for such long hours one must have good stamina and concentration. This time is divided into two parts.

In the first half the classical Indian dance of Bharatanatyam artists generally performs

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• Pushpanjali or Alaripu ,Jatiswaram,Shabdam
• Varnam

In the second half:

• PadamAshtapadi or Tillana
• Mangalam

Pushpanjali
This is an item where the classical Indian dancer of Bharatanatyam salutes to god, guru and the audience. This item is a warm-up item where the artist prepares the body for the next hours of vigorous performance.

Alaripu ("budding flower")
Includes pure nritta. The movements are performed for syllables set for a beat (Tala). The complexity of the movements gradually increase, as the dancer's attention focusses more and more.. The steps are so formed that it looks like a bud blooming into a flower. This is also a warm-up piece to prepare the body for the next hours of classical Indian dance performance. Even though there is no obvious message communicated here, this can also be considered as an item where the artist salutes god, guru and the audience.

Jatiswaram
This is also an item where the movements will not convey any meaning or theme. Here the steps are more complex than the previous items. The composition can have amazing postures and teermanas or muktayas (ending of a jati). This is a musical composition set to a raga unlike alaripu which has only syllables.

Shabda
This is a dance item with both nritta and abinaya. Usually the theme of the lyrics will be devotional like praising lord Krishna, depicting Krishna's childhood, praising a king etc.The movements here are leisurely. In the Sabdam, emotions are withheld at the beginning; thereafter, when the dancer has clarified herself, they are released in a measured and disciplined manner. It is after, mastering this discipline that she dances the Varnam which is a living river that holds together movement and interpretation.

Varnam
This is the item where the classical Indian dancers are tested for their capacity to perform both abinaya and nritta. This can be treated as a benchmark to judge the artist's talent.The item will contain many complex steps and will have lot of room for expressions also. To perform this item one should have lot of stamina and concentration. The lyrics can be devotional, praising a king etc. Varna can also have shrigara rasa as its theme.

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Expressions are given foremost importance while performing these poems. Needs lot of grace. The classical Indian dancer should be mature enough to understand the lyrics and the situation to show the rasas.

Devaranama
This item is a devotional piece where the lyrics are in praise of god, describing the god etc. This is a pure abhinaya item with almost no emphasis on nritta. These songs are the classical Indian dance compositions of great mystics like Purandharadaasa, Kanakadaasa, Vijayadaasa, Vyasaraaja to name a few. The classical Indian dance compositions are popularly known as Daasa Sahitya. It is a devotional literatures written in simple language understood by common man. It has made remarkable contribution to the spiritual and cultural upliftment of people by preaching phylosophy of Love, Devotion and Peaceful Co-Existance.

Tillana
This is usually the last item in any classical Indian dance performance. Tillana is full of complicated movements and postures. This will also have complicated Muktayas or Sholkattu, ending of any step or aduvu. This is mainly a nritta piece which might have a charana, a meaningfull lyrics for which abinaya is shown.

Mangala
Meaning ending the performance. Here the classical Indian dancer of Bharatanatyam will again salute god, guru and the audience for making the performance a success.

A classical Indian dance of Bharatanatyam recital resembles the structure of a Hindu temple: first, one passes through the gopuram (outer gate) of alarippu, then one crosses the ardhamandapam (midway hall) of jatiswaram, next the mandapam (great hall of worship) of sabdam and enter the heart of the temple in the varnam.

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classical indian dance Bharata natyam

Classical Indian dance

Bharatnatyam Classical Indian dance

Classical Indian dance is an attempt to embody the divine beauty, charm, rhythms and symbols that exist in heaven.

Classical Indian dance is a means of spiritual elevation both for the dancer and the audience.

Indian Classical dance

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Classical Indian dance

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Indian Classical dance

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Classical Indian dance