Krishna Iyer and Bharatanatyam experienced a renaissance as a stage art. She implemented a lasting structure and categorization of the dance to ensure clarity and to carry the invaluable knowledge into the future. However Bharatanatyam in India is diverse and the world of art presents fascinating dancers of different schools. The choreographies are categorized in three types: Nritta is pure dance, Nritya is Abhinaya combined with dance and Natya is pure Abhinaya, pure dance theater.
A full repertoire, which a student accomplishes after mastering the Adavus, consists of an opening item, a flower offering, followed by Alarippu, in which the dancer, like a blossoming flower, presents the basic dance techniques in the three speeds. The third is called Jatiswaram, a pure dance item. The next is Shabdam, the first item in the repertoire displaying dance and Abhinaya, the expression mainly of eyes and face, which along with the Mudras is used to tell stories from the Hindu mythology.
The highlight is the Varnam which today lasts between 20 and 30 minutes. After that follows the Keerthanam, a Nritya item, and the Padam, a pure Abhinaya choreography. The crowning finale of the repertoire is the Thillana, a dynamic pure dance item which only contains a short sloka. The compositions are based on the Carnatic music system which works with various melodic modes, the Ragas, and rhythmic cycles, the Talas. They form the basis of training in Bharatnatyam dance.
As a solo dance, Bharatnatyam leans heavily on the abhinaya or mime aspect of dance - the nritya , where the dancer expresses the sahitya through movement and mime.
Shabdam follows the jatiswaram in a Bharatnatyam dance performance. The accompanying song is generally in adoration of the Supreme Being. After the shabdam , the dancer performs the varnam. The varnam which is the most important composition of the Bharatnatyam repertoire, encompasses both nritta and nritya and epitomises the essence of this classical dance form.
The dancer here performs complicated well graded rhythmic patterns in two speeds showing the control over rhythm , and then goes on to depict in a variety of ways, through abhinaya the lines of the sahitya. This portrays the dancer's excellence in abhinaya and also reflects the endless creativity of the choreographer.
The varnam is by far one of the most beautiful compositions in Indian dance. After the strenuous varnam , the dancer performs a number of abhinaya items expressing a variety of moods. The bhava or rasa is woven into the sahitya and then expressed by the dancer.
These are among the variables available to a Bharatanatyam dancer in India as well as abroad. But, to qualify as Bharatanatyam, I believe a performance must employ the technique unique to it- without trashing it or watering it down.
The dancer has a responsibility to fulfill the expectations of the discerning members of an audience in India, and of the interested innocenti abroad, that what is on offer is the Real McCoy.
A central conception In Indian dance, the human body has been conceived of as a mass, which can be equally divided among the central median. Further movement is determined by the nature of deflections from this median What is distinctive in Bharatanatyam is the fact that it conceives of movement in space mostly along either straight lines or triangles. The head forms the first unit and lateral movements of the head are common.
The torso is seen as another unit and is hardly ever broken up into the upper or the lower torso. The lower limbs are seen as either straight lines or two sides of an imaginary triangle in space.
The upper limbs either follow the lower limbs or weave circular patterns along space which is governed by the lower limbs. It is the latter aspect, along with the use of the torso as a single unit that gives Bharatanatyam its particularity. Adavu The adavu is the basic unit of [Bharatanatyam] composition A cadence of the hands combined with a rhythmic movement of the feet and a harmonious flexion of the body in precise coordination is called adavu.
Each adavu is identified by a syllabary or rhythmic phrase- e. Adavu-s are the basic vocabulary of dance composition A series of adavu-s strung together in a section of timing tala avarta forms a dance pattern teermanam or adavu jati. While the feet articulate the rhythm, formalised gestures of the hands and arms combined with stylised movements of the body create beautiful plastic designs in space.
Sringara Sringara stands supreme in the range of emotions. The sringara we experience in Bharatanatyam is never carnal, never, never. For those who have yielded themselves to its discipline with total dedication, dance, like music, is the practice of the Presence; it cannot be merely the body's rapture.
By the very fact of the lover being god, the union longed for is not of the physical but of the spiritual plane. It is the yearning of the individual soul for merger with the cosmic soul that is figuratively expressed in the erotic idiom. Yet the spiritual quality of Bharatanatyam is not achieved through the elimination of the sensual but through the seemingly sensual itself, thereby sublimating it. Balasaraswati, in Bala on Bharatanatyam , Sringara means love, but this is not confined to rati sringara.
There is bhakti sringara and vatsalya sringara besides rati sringara Even in rati sringara, the erotic element must be refined. In India, even in ideal life, a certain discipline is exercised in showing our love for another.
We don't generally do it in public, although some people do it everywhere. Same with art. If the act of kissing is to be depicted, it should be done with subtlety, artistically. Someone or other may present this act without beauty, but this should not be construed to mean eroticism is unacceptable.
The Varnam Varnam is the most complex, interesting, challenging item- the piece de resistance in a recital to prove the virtuosity and stamina of a Bharatanatyam dancer. The varnam provides the fullest scope to the dancer to improvise on a given theme In terms of technique, the dancer has freedom to improvise on the musical note as well as on the literary word. In the abhinaya portions, the dancer presents either a word-for-word interpretation or renders through gesture the meaning of a complete line.
She can also present through gestures other images related to but not contained in the word. In this respect, the varnam calls for all the imaginative faculties at the command of the dancer, who must possess a rich literary background. Without this, the dancer would be at a loss to present the words through the gestures in a variety of ways Varna is the most elaborate composition of the dance which calls forth the versatility of the danseuse in pure dance and mime The most fascinating element of the varna is the exposition of the transient moods of love sanchari bhava in mimetic dance.
The dancer thus creates a gesture poem of her own to enlarge the poetic theme of the song. Daanam Gift. Colors of Krishna. Love Lyrics. Photo Credit — Dave Bellmont.
Photo Credit — Anand Thiagarajan. Loading view. There are no upcoming events.
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