2. The heritage of Indian Classical Dance embraces several styles, the most popular being Odissi, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, Kathakali and Bharatanatyam. They can all trace their origins to the “Natya Shastra “ a treatise on dance, written by Sage Bharata over 2000 years ago. Bharatanatyam is perhaps the oldest among classical dance. Bharata was a legendary sage whom Brahma, the god of creation, himself is supposed to have instructed in the art of dance for the purpose of propagating the art to all mankind. The three syllables, Bha-Ra-Ta, illustrates the three quintessential components of the dance, namely, Bhava (expressions), Raga (melody) and Tala (rhythm). Bharatanatyam was nurtured in the temples of South India , and even today has very close ties to religion. Bharatanatyam is an exquisite blend of abstract dance (Nritta), dance with expressions(Nritya) and graceful expression (Natya). Proficiency in the art is attained only after several years of intensive training, at which point a student is ready to “ascend to the stage” and present a concert- length solo recital (Arangetram) to the public. Indian Classical Dance
3. The term " Bharathanatyam " was introduced by Rukminidevi Arundale, and is derived from: BHA va(expression) + RA ga (music) + TA la(rhythm) + NATYAM (dramatic art) This widely appreciated dance form of Tamil Nadu (a state in Southern India) is Bharatanatyam. Previously known as Sadir, Dasiattam & Thanjavur Natyam, The contemporary form of Bharatnatyam evolved during the late 18th or early 19th century.The devadasis (girls who are dedicated to gods) dominated the Sadir. The famous Natarajan – Shivan dancing ! Bharatanatyam dancers are predominantly women & always dance bent-kneed. It is a dance style where there is heavy emphasis on hand movements to convey various emotions. The body is visualized as if made up of triangles, one above and one below the torso. It is based upon a balanced distribution of body weight and firm positions of the lower limbs, allowing the hands to cut into a line, to flow around the body, or to take positions that enhance the basic form. A special feature of this dance form are Padams or poems on the hero-heroine theme. The performer has to be aware of the numerous subtle features of the dance style. Bharatanatyam Dance
4. Bharathanatyam comprises three aspects : Nritta , Nritya and Natya . Nritta are rhythmical and repetitive elements, i.e. it is dance proper Nritya is a combination of Nritta and Natya Natya is the dramatic art, and is a language of gestures, poses and mime. cf. Abhinaya 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. Bharatanatyam Dance
41. 1) While doing this adavu, you need to be in the Ardhamandal(half sitting) posture. Taata = Taps STEP I
42. 2) Place your Palms on the waist with the inside of the palm facing outside. 3) Please try to keep a practice of starting every Adavu with your right side(leg in this adavu). So first lift your right leg towards the inner thigh and then tap the floor with flat feet (say “tai ya”). 4) Once the right leg is grounded, repeat the same with the left leg (say ”tai hi”). 5) Continue the steps (”tai-ya”, “tai-hi”) till you have a good feel of the step. We would practice each step 30 times in around 3 minutes. Remember that the one tap each of left and right legs is counted as one step.
43. Stay in the Ardhamandal (Half seated posture). Place your Palms on the waist with the inside of the palm facing outside. Lift your right leg towards the inner thigh and tap the floor with flat feet (say “tai ya”). Once the right leg is grounded, again lift the same (right) leg and then tap the floor with flat feet (say “tai hi”). After the second tap of the right leg, lift your left leg in a similar fashion and then tap the floor with flat feet (say “tai ya”). Once the Left leg is grounded, again lift the same (left) leg and tap the floor with flat feet (say “tai hi”) We can now practice the first and second step together for 25 times each. Please note that (”tai-ya”, “tai-hi”) is one count and so for the second step, one count is completed on one side itself i.e. double tap with right leg is one count. STEP II
44. Note that from the third step onwards the Bols are “Tai ya tai hi tai tai tam”. The third step is similar to the first two and as you may have guessed it, you would tap each feet thrice on each side. The detailed steps are below (please note the changes in Bols below): Stay in the Ardhamandal (Half seated posture). Place your Palms on the waist with the inside of the palm facing outside. Lift your right leg towards the inner thigh and tap the floor with flat feet (say “tai ya”). Once the right leg is grounded, lift the same (right) leg and then tap the floor with flat feet (say “tai hi”). Again lift the same leg (right) leg and then tap the floor with flat feet (say “tai tai tam”) After the third tap of the right leg, lift your left leg in a similar fashion and then tap the floor with flat feet (say “tai ya”). Once the Left leg is grounded, again lift the same (left) leg and tap the floor with flat feet (say “tai hi”). Again lift the same (left) leg and tap the floor with flat feet (say “tai tai tam”). STEP III
45. Stay in the Ardhamandal (Half seated posture). Place your Palms on the waist with the inside of the palm facing outside. Lift your right leg towards the inner thigh and tap the floor with flat feet (say “tai ya”). Once the right leg is grounded, lift the same (right) leg and tap the floor with flat feet (say “tai hi”). Again lift the same leg (right) leg a third time and tap the floor with flat feet (say “tai tai”) After the third tap of the right leg, lift your left leg in a similar fashion and tap the floor with flat feet (say “tam”). With this, we finish one count for this step. For the next count, we begin with the left leg. So, Lift the Left leg towards the inner thigh and tap the floor with flat feet (say “tai ya”), tap again (say “tai hi”) and tap again (say “tai tai”) Once the left leg is grounded lift the right leg and tap with flat feet(say”tam”). This completes the second count for this step. STEP IV
