Indian Classical Dance Forms
“aangikam bhuvanam yasya
vaachikam sarva vaangmayam
aahaaryam chandra thaaraadhi
tham numah saathvikam shivam”
“Whose bodily movement is the entire universe,
whose speech is the language (of the universe),
whose ornaments are the moon and the stars,
Him, we worship, the serene lord Shiva.”
The dance of Shiva symbolises the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, birth and death. His dance is therefore the dance of the Universe.
In Indian culture, the dance of Shiva is the dance of life. A dancer makes a humble offering of acknowledgement to the almighty by way of dance. This is the unique quality of Indian Classical Dancing compared to dance forms in other cultures.
Dance forms were nurtured with a purpose in the sacred premises of temples. Temple dancing had a mission: to take art to the people and conveying a message to the masses. Art was an effective means to suggest the cosmic truth touching the hearts of the devotees through dance, music, sculpture, architecture or a piece of jewellery, when compared to the effect created by rigid ritualistic practices.
The dancing girls of the temples were called devadasis and the temple activity was considered as a means of dedication.
In the times of Vijayanagar the entire South India and parts of Orissa came under one rule and by this time the bhakti movement had lost its essence and the temples were the place of grandeur and celebration of events, the dancing girls were more exhibitionistic in their presentation. The present Bharatanatyam style finds its substance from the Dassiattam of the colonial times.
Classical Dances of India
India 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. The most famous classical forms are:
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Bharatanatyam of Tamilnadu
Kathakali and Mohiniyattam of Kerala
Odissi of Orissa,
Kathak of Uttarpradesh,
Kuchipudi of Andhrapradesh and
Manipuri of Manipur.
The common root of all classical dance forms can be traced to Bharatha's NATYASASTRA. It is a common text for all the Indian dance forms. It contains the different kinds of postures, the mudras or hand movements each depicting a particular meaning, and about the construction of stage , makeup and about orchestra. All dance forms are thus structured around the nine rasas or emotions. Hasya (happiness), krodha (anger), bhibatsa (disgust), bhaya (fear), veera (courage), karuna (compassion), adbhuta (wonder) and shanta (serenity).
Indian classical dance is divided into nritta - the rhythmic elements, nritya- the combination of rhythm and expression, natya - the dramatic element.