Classical Dance

What is Dancing?

Dancing is something that can make you happy even at your worst! It's something that you don't have to be worried about-about your moves, whether you are putting up the right steps or no! It's about going with the flow and the beats of your favorite song that soothes you all the time or some rock n roll song! In short it's like meditation-away from worries. Only happiness and peace.Dancing for me is purely an entertainment and a hobby at the same time. You are most likely investing energy when dancing. It is a form of art which is true and definitely one way to release your stress. Dancing is nothing but a combination of few steps and movement. There was a time when it was treated as a hobby, but now a day’s most of the people are using the field for a professional stage. The world of art and culture is highly emerging day by day.

Indian Dance-According to Hindu Mythology, dance is believed to be a creation of Brahma. It is said that Lord Brahma inspired the sage Bharat Muni to write the Natyashastra – a Sanskrit treatise on performing arts. Its first complete compilation was written between 200 BCE (Before Common Era) and 200 CE (Common Era). The text covers topics such as stage design, body movement, postures and emotions, makeup, musical scales, merging music with art performance and so on. The text also explains the various kinds of emotions that go in performance art and their classifications. The Natyashastra, therefore, acts as one of the foundation stones of all forms of Indian classical dances.

Dance is a popular motif in Hindu mythology as well, as seen through Shiva’s cosmic dance – Tandava, Kali’s dance of creation and destruction, Krishna’s dance with the Gopikas and the Raas-Leela.

There are Eight Forms of Famous Indian Classical Dance-

Bharatanatyam – Tamil Nadu

Bharata Natyam is considered to the oldest form of dance and mother of all other style of classical dance in India. The classical Indian dance Bharatanatyam originated from the art of temple dancers in the South India state of Tamil Nadu. Bharatanatyam is reworked form of dance from the traditional sadir and combination of expression,music,beat and dance. Bharatanatyam or the fire dance is one of the most popular styles of dance performed by male and female dancers.Bharatnatyam is among the oldest of the classical dance forms in the country with a history that goes back more than two thousand years. the dance intergrats elements of music,theater,poetry,sclupture and litreture, this multi-dimensional art has come down through the centuries ,as part of dynamic, vital, living tradition that offers infinite scope for understanding and exploring the body, mind and spirit.

Bharatanayam , which originates from the state of Tamil Nadu in South India, is one of the most popular dance styles in India. A popular interpretation of the name of the style is: BHAva (expressions) +RAga (musical mode) +TAla (rythm) NATYAM (dance)=BHARATANAYAM.

Kathak – Uttar Pradesh

The word Kathak has been derived from the word Katha which means a story.

Khathakars or story tellers, are people who narrates stories largely based on episodes from the epics, myths and legends. It probably started as an oral traditional. Mime and gestures were perhaps added later on to make the recitation more effective. thus evloped a simple form of expressional dance, providing the origins of what later devloped into kathak as we see it today.

The vashinative cult which swept North India in the 15th century. and the resultant bhakti movement contributed to a whole new range of lyrics and musical forms.The Radha Krishna theme proved immensely popular alongwith the works of Mirabai,Surdas, Nandadas and Krishnadas.

Kathak is originated from Uttar Pradesh and one of the eight forms of ancient classical dances of Inida. Famous Kathak dance id derrived from Katha or story-tellers,people who narrate stories during the whole art of Kathak dance.

Kathakali – Kerala

Kathakali is one of the most attracting classical Indian dance- drama perfomed by well trained artist Kathakali is originated in God's own country Kerala in17th century and got popular at every corner of India. The attractive make-up. detailed gestures and elaborate costumes of the characters along with body movements with playback music are best experince to watch.

Kathakali is typically structured around ‘Attakatha’ meaning the story of attam or dance. ‘Attakatha’ are plays that were historically derived from Hindu epics like ‘Bhagavata Purans’, ‘Mahabharata’ and ‘Ramayana’ which were written in certain format that allows one to determine the dialogue portions that is the Pada part and the action portions that is the Shloka part of the performance. The latter is the poetic metre written in third person elucidating the action portions through choreography. A dramatic representation of an ancient play is presented in a Kathakali performance which includes actor-dancers, vocalists and musicians. This age-old performance art traditionally starts at dusk and performed through dawn with breaks and interludes and sometimes for several nights starting at dusk.

Kuchipudi – Andhra Pradesh

Kuchipudi, a pre-eminent Indian classical dance form counted among ten leading classical dance forms of India, is a dance-drama performance art that originated in a village of Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, India. Similar to all leading Indian classical dance forms, Kuchipudi too evolved as a religious art rooting back to the age-old Hindu Sanskrit text ‘Natya Shastra’ and connects traditionally with temples, spiritual faiths and travelling bards. This ancient dance form finds place in the 10th century copper inscriptions and in 15th century texts like ‘Machupalli Kaifat’. Traditionally it is regarded that the sanyassin of Advaita Vedanta sect, Tirtha Narayana Yati, and his disciple Siddhendra Yogi initiated, methodized and arranged the present day version of the dance form in 17th century. Usually performance repertoire of Kuchipudi that is broadly oriented on Lord Krishna and the tradition of Vaishnavism include an invocation, dharavu – short dance, nritta – pure dance and nritya – expressive dance respectively.

Manipuri – Manipur

Manipuri dance is counted among major classical dance forms of India, especially noted for themes based on Vaishnavism and spectacular execution of ‘Ras Lila’, dance dramas based on love between Radha and Krishna. Other themes included in this art form associate with Shaktism, Shaivism and on the sylvan deities called Umang Lai during Manipuri festival ‘Lai Haraoba’. This dance form is named after the north-eastern state of Manipur, India from where it originated but it has its roots in ‘Natya Shastra’, the age-old Sanskrit Hindu text. A mix of Indian and southeast Asian culture is palpable in this form. The age-old dance tradition of the place is manifested from great Indian epics, ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’, where the native dance experts of Manipur are referred as ‘Gandharvas’. The Manipuris perform this religious art that aims at expressing spiritual values during Hindu festivals and other important cultural occasions like marriage.

Odissi – Orissa

Odissi is the oldest surviving dance form in India,originates from state of Orissa. The Odissi dance form is known for its style, the independent movement of head, chest and pelvis. Beautiful Odissi Dance is traditional and ancient style of dance performed in the temples.

Odissi closely follows the tenets laid down by the Natya Shastra. Facial expressions, hand gestures and body movements are used to suggest a certain feeling, an emotion or one of the nine rasas.
The techniques of movement are built around the two basic postures of the Chowkand the Tribhanga. The chowk is a position imitating a square - a very masculine stance with the weight of the body equally balanced. The tribhanga is a very feminine stance where the body is deflected at the neck, torso and the knees.

Sattriya – Assam

Sattriya or sattriya nrittya is one of the eight principal classical Indian dance traditions of Assam in India. Sattriya has remained a living tradition since its creation by the founder of Vaishnavism in Assam, the great saint Srimanta Sankardev, in 15th century Assam. He created Sattriya Nritya as an accompaniment to the Ankia Naat (a form of Assamese one-act plays devised by him), which were usually performed in the sattras, as Assam's monasteries are called. As the tradition developed and grew within the sattras, the dance form came to be known as Sattriya Nritya.

Mohiniyattam – Kerala

Mohiniyattam literally interpreted as the dance of ‘Mohini’, the celestial enchantress of the Hindu mythology, is the classical solo dance form of Kerala.

According to a Puranic story, Lord Vishnu took on the guise of a ‘Mohini’ to seduce the Asuras, both in connection with churning of the ocean and episode of the slaying of Bhasmasura.

The delicate body movements and subtle facial expressions are more feminine in nature and therefore are ideally suited for performance by womens.