Classical Dances of India by Dr. Gaurav Garg
Folk dance → A traditional dance of a particular group of people or place is folk dance. Folk
dance is performed according to folk music. It belongs to a particular community, place or caste.
Example → Bihu (Assam), Garba (Gujarat), Bhangra (Punjab), etc.
Classical dance → The dance describing the characters of God, Goddess and religious scriptures is called
classical dance. There are proper rules and dress for classical dances.
Historical Evidence :-
● Excavations, inscriptions, chronicles, genealogies of kings and artists, literary sources, sculpture and
painting of different periods provide extensive evidence on dance in India.
● Contemporary classical dance forms have evolved out of the musical play or sangeet-nataka performed
from the 12th century to the 19th century.
● The first formal mention of dance is found in Bharata Muni’s famous work Natya Shastra.
● Dance is a form of art, where the body is used as a medium of communication.
● The dance heritage of India is at least 5000 years old.
● Dance is of divine origin – It was a ritual form of worship in temples.
● Nataraja, the dancing Lord Shiva, is the supreme manifestation of Indian dance
● As per Natya Shastra, there are two basic aspects of Indian classical dance.
➢ Lasya – It denotes grace, bhava, rasa and abhinaya. It is symbolic to the feminine features of dance
as an art form.
➢ Tandava – This is symbolic to male aspects of dance and has more emphasis on rhythm and movement.
● 9 rasas or emotions that are expressed through the dance -
● These moods and expressions are emoted through the use of Mudras – a combination of hand gestures
and body postures.
● 108 fundamental mudras.
● As per Abhinaya Darpan, Nandikeshwara’s famous treatise on dance, an act has been broken into three
basic elements:
➢ Natya - dramatic representations and refers to the story that is elaborated through the dance
recital. When a historical character performs a simulation dancer, his gait, manner of speech, dress,
etc., we call it Natya.
➢ Nritta – basic dance steps, performed rhythmically. No expression or mood conveyed. It does not
have a place to express emotion, but only the rhythm is a closed organ operation, it is called Nritta.
In this, organ movements are not performed for any expressive gesture but for sole beauty. It is said
that this dance is the oldest. The Tandava dance of Shiva Bhagwan is also a Nritta. This dance is
considered very auspicious, so it is done on all auspicious occasions.
➢ Nritya – basic movement + gestures and poses using hands and fingers (hastamudras) and facial
expressions (abhinaya). Refers to the sentiment and the emotions evoked through dance. The Nritya
originates from the coordination of Nritta and Natya. Of the three distinctions, the art of Nritya is .
Bharatnatyam (Tamil Nadu)
● Oldest among all classical dance forms, Bharatnatyam derives its name from Bharata Muni.
● The Abhinaya Darpana by Nandikesvara is one of the main sources of study Bharatnatyam.
● Ekaharya, where one dancer takes on many roles in a single
performance.
● The efforts of E. Krishna Iyer , a prominent freedom fighter,
revived this dance form.
● Rukmini Devi Arundale gave the dance global recognition.
● Theme - " Religious and devotional ".
● In this dance form, equal emphasis is given on both the
Tandava and Lasya aspects of dance, with major emphasis
on ‘mudras’.
● The dance involves transitional movements of leg, hip and
arm. Expressive eye movements and hand gestures are used
to convey emotions.
● Bharatnatyam is often referred to as the ‘fire dance ’, as it is
the manifestation of the element of fire in the human body.
● Famous proponents → Yamini Krishnamurthy (also famous for Kuchipudi), Lakshmi Viswanathan , Padma
Subramaniam , Mrinalini Sarabhai , Mallika Sarabhai (also famous for Kuchipudi), etc.
● Costumes are made of silk sarees with gold embroidery and have a lot of pleats.
● Necklace, Bangles and head ornaments are used as jewelry.
● Bells mounted on woven pads are worn on the feet.
● Knees are bent.
● Generally performance is completed with chanting of shlokas.
● Bharatnatyam poses are depicted on the gopurams of the Chidambaram temple (Tamil Nadu).
Kathak (North India, mainly in Uttar Pradesh)
● It was primarily a temple or village performance wherein the dancers narrated stories from ancient
scriptures, it traces its origins from the Ras Leela of Brajbhoomi .
● Name is derived from Katha (story) and kathakaar (who tells stories).
● Kathak began evolving into a distinct mode of dance in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries with the
spread of the bhakti movement.
● Under the Mughal emperors and their nobles, Kathak was performed in the court, where it acquired its
present features and developed into a form of dance with a distinctive style.
● Under the patronage of Wajid Ali Shah , the last Nawab of Awadh, it grew into a major art form.
● The classical style of Kathak was revived by Lady Leela Sokhey in the 20 th century.
● Jugalbandi is the main attraction of kathak recital which shows a competitive play between the dancer
and the tabla player.
● Theme - " Radha krishna ".
● Dance progresses from slow to fast pieces.
● Has Footwork & spins and includes abhinaya-expression.
● Performed on Hindustani music provided by Tabla, Sitar,
Santoor.
● Female Dress - lehenga choli or churidar kameez.
● Male Dress - bare chest and dhoti or kurta churidar.
● An important feature of Kathak is the development of
different gharanas as it is based on Hindustani style of
music:
➢ Lucknow: Nawab Wajid Ali Khan.
➢ Jaipur: Initiated by Bhanuji.
➢ Raigarh: Raja Chakradhar Singh.
➢ Banaras: It developed under Janaki prasad.
● Famous proponents → Birju Maharaj , Lacchu Maharaj ,
Sitara Devi , Shovana Narayan .
● Usually a solo performance, the dancer often pauses to recite
verses followed by their execution through movement.
● The focus is more on footwork; the movements are skillfully controlled and performed straight legged by
dancers wearing ankle-bells.
0 Comments