All About Dance... ANISHA GOEL
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The most celebrated art form of the Southern Indian State of Tamil Nadu, Bharatanatyam is a dynamic and earthy dance style. It is, in effect, a tradition that demands of the performer - total dedication, detachment from wordly ties and a sublimation of self to the art. Bharatanatyam is a relatively new name which arose from Bha, Ra and Ta standing for Bhava(emotion), Raga(melody) and Tala(rhythm) and Natyam meaning dance. It was earlier known as Sadir Nach, Dasi attam, and Thanjavur Natyam. The contemporary form of Bharatanatyam evolved during the late 18th or early 19th century. Sadir was till then the domain of devadasis or temple dancers. The songs were purely devotional love songs, the dancer being the devotee and God the beloved. This form reached its nadir during 1910-1930 with the degeneration of social mores. But during 1926-35, under the championship of E. Krishna Iyer, the dance regained its majesty and came to be known as Bharatanatyam. The present day form is said to have been codified by four famous dance Gurus of Tanjore viz. Chinniah, Ponniah, Shivanandam and Vadivelu, widely known as the Tanjore brothers. Technique: Bharatanatyam consists of steps grouped into Adavus, which are basic dance movements. The dancers are usually women and, like the sculptures they take their positions from, always dance bent-kneed. This essential feature is called aramandi. It is an extremely precise dance style where a huge repertoire of hand movements is used to convey moods and expressions. |
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Costume and Music: The make-up and costume is elaborate and temple jewelry (resembling those of sculptures in temples) is used. The most commonly used styles include the Skirt/Sari style and the Pyjama Style. Some also use the normal sari and stitch it temporarily for the dance purpose. The most beautiful part of the costume is the knife-pleated fan which is either knee length or mid-calf length and links the two legs of the pyjamas. This fan opens up whenever the dancer takes the basic Bharatnatyam posture of aramandi. A variety of jewelry items are worn consisting of earbells, necklaces, bangles, talaisaamaan (head set, sun-surya prabha and moon- chandra prabha), flowers, other hair decoration, ankle bells and Waist band. The rakudi is worn at the top of the head which provides as an anchor for the flowers worn by the dancer. The hair is mostly plaited and tied to a beautiful fringe called the kunjulam. The music accompanying Bharatanatyam is Carnatic music. It has a rigid and a well defined taal structure and a raga system. The accompanying artists are equally important and it requires a great deal of co-ordination and understanding between the musicians and the dancer. Various instruments like mridangam and cymbals (which are essential), clarinet, violin, flute and sometimes veena are used. Bharatanatyam is vibrant and very demanding of the dancer. The body is visualized as made 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. Repertoire: A typical recital begins with an Alaripu, an invocatory piece consisting of simple rhythmic syllables and basic positions of dance. The Jatiswaram is pure dance, creating forms of beauty through poses and rhythmic movements. Shabdam is abhinaya to a song in praise of the glory of God or a royal patron. The Varnam, a complex item combines nritta, nritya and abhinaya synchronizing bhava, raga and tala. This is the most challenging item in Bharatanatyam. Padams or poems on the hero-heroine theme have a slow tempo and each phase of the performance is crystallized into a specific mood of love. Jawalis are sorter love-lyrics in a faster tempo. Tillana which is pure dance with intricate rhythmic variations and thrilling movements usually concludes the performance.
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