💃 DANCE STORY 💃

👯👯👯BHARATANATYAM👯👯👯

• History : 

• Bharatanatyam is one of the oldest classical dances of India.

• Bharatanatyam by 2nd century CE is noted in the ancient Tamil epic Silappadikaram. 

• Temple sculptures of 6th to 9th century CE suggest it was a well refined performance art by the mid 1st millennium CE.

• It follows the rules of the Natya Shastra , which is an ancient Indian treatise on the performing arts, encompassing theatre, dance and music, written between 200 BC and 200 AD. 

• Origin :

• Bharatanatyam originated in the Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu and is regarded as the mother of many other classical dance forms of India. 

• First it was initiated in the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu and eventually flourished in South India.

• It is the most widely practiced of Indian classical dances in south India, and has it's origin in Tamil Nadu. 

• The term Bharatnatyam was introduced in the mid thirties by

 S. Krishna Iyer and later spread by Rukminidevi Arundale. 

• It comprises Bhava,Raga, Tala, and Natya put together as Bharatanatyam.

  • The God Of Bharatanatyam :-

  • Lord Shiva is the god of Bharatanatyam...

  
  
  

  • About the Costume

    
    

    

  
  

  • Dancers wear costumes made of silk sarees with gold zari embroidery designs.

  
  

  • There are two commonly used styles in Bharatanatyam Costumes for women: 

  
  
  

  • The Skirt (Saree) Style

  
  

  • The Pyjama Style.

  
  

  • The Pyjama Style

  
  

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    The costumes consists of four parts :-

  
  

  • Blouse (upper part)

  • Pyjama ( lower part )

  • Fan ( between the pyjamas )

  • Small Fan

  • Pallu (drape over bosom)

    
    

    • Exams ( periodically )

    
    

    • There are six practical examination grades, numbered from 1 to 6, in order to indicate the increasing order of difficulty.

    (6 represents the highest level of attainment)

    
    
    
    

    • The Adavus of Bharatanatyam

    
    

    • Adavus are the basic dance steps in Bharatanatyam. 

    
    

    • The technique of any classical dance rests on the sturdy base of the adavus. 

    
    

    • An Adavu is defined as "The basic rhythmic unit of dance within a specific tempo and time structure that involves composite movements pertaining to Nritta".

    
    

    •    Tatta Adavu (Tap)                                                         7

      

    • Natta Adavu  (Perching on the heels)                      8

       

    • Pakka Adavu  (side move)                                            6

    
    

    •    Kuditha Mettu Adavu ( jump and beat )       6

    
    

    •    Sarikal  Adavu ( Slide )                                               4

    
    

    •    Periya Adavu ( Cover Big space )                              1

    
    

    •    Etta Adavu ( To reach out)                                         6

    
    

    •    Tiramana Adavu – I (finishing and ending)        5

       Tiramana Adavu – II                                     9     

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      Utplavana Adavu ( jump)                                            3

    
    

    •   Jati  Adavu (Tatti-metti)                                                5

    
    

    •   Katta/Kartari Adavu (enclose),                                      1  

      Shimir ( Open )                                                        3         

    
    

    
    

    • The Prayer 🙏 and it’s Meaning

    
    

    • Angikam Bhuvanam Yasya,

    Vachikam Sarva Vangmayam,

    Aaharyam Chandra Taaraadhi,

    Tam Namha Saatvikam Shivam 🙏

    
    

    • Oh Lord Shiva 🙏, your body is our universe.

    Your language is our language, the universal language of dance..

    Lord Shiva 🙏, when you dance, the sun and moon become your spotlight.

    To you, we bow, Lord Shiva 🙏 

    
    
    
    

    • The Namaskar

    
    

    • The Namaskar is performed right after the prayer to start the dance and at the last to end the dance.

      
      

      
      

      • Four Major Positions in Bharatanatyam

      
      

      • Samapada 

      • Standing position

      • The dancer is standing with feet joined, hands on the hips and face forward.

        The body is straight and at attention, not too relaxed and not too stiff.

        
        

        
        

        

        
        

        • Ayattam

        • Half Sitting position 

        • Ayattam is an integral body posture in Bharatnatyam. 

        • It is the starting position of Bharatnatyam which is also known as the half-sitting posture. 

        • In this posture, the performer must sit at a position which is 3/4th of his or her height.

          
          

          

          
          

          • Ara - Mandi

          • In Ara - Mandi the thigh and the calf do not touch.

          • It is a position on toes in between the Ayattam position and the Mandi position.

          
          

          
          

          • Mandi

          • In this posture, the dancer sits down completely, maintaining the same feet positions as in Ara - Mandi.

        
        

        

             

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      Mudra ( hand gestures )

    
    

    • In Bharatanatyam, the Classical Dance of India performed by Lord Nataraja, the mudras (hand/finger gestures), are used to clearly communicate specific ideas, events, actions, or creatures. 

    
    

    • There are a total of 55 root mudras. Of them 32 are Asamyukta Hastas (mudras), and other 23 are Samyukta Hastas 

      ( mudras ).

    
    

    • Asamyukta Hastas

    
    

    • Asamyukta Hastas are the 32 of the one hand mudras.

    
    

    

    
    

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      Samyukta Hastas

    
    

    • Samyukta Hastas are the other 23 of the root mudras and are both hand gestures.

      
      

      

      
      

      
      

      
      

      
      

      
      

      THANKYOU