Dances of India

The dance heritage of India is at least 5000 years old. A dancing girl figurine was found in the ruins of Mohenjodaro and is dated approximately 2nd Century B.C. Many group dancing sequences are depicted in exquisite rock paintings of Bhimbetaka caves of Madhya Pradesh. The apsaras (Celestials) dancers are carved at the gateways of Sanchi. The wall paintings of Ajanta and Ellora, the sculptures of Khajuraho, the temple walls of Hoysala dynasty, stand ample evidence for popularity of Indian dances from ancient times.Through the centuries the dances have been used as a vehicle of worship and expression of emotions in India. The temple dancers (Devadasis) have led very austere lives in order to perform sacred dances to please Gods and Goddesses. The Devadasi system is still prevalent in some states of India. In Karnataka they are dedicated to the Goddess Yellamma of Savadatti. In Orissa, they are appointed to perform various activities of the temple.

A Temple Woman Dancing to Please Goddess

Dancer from a Medieval Sculpture

Lord Shiva and His Cosmic Dance

Dance in Indian Society Nataraja, the dancing Lord Shiva, is the supreme manifestation of Indian dance. The moon which he adorns in his head is the symbol complete control of senses. The serpents wound around his body are the proof of his complete control over vital life forces. His foot raised high over the wicked demon, a symbol of triumph over the ego.

The major Indian classical dances are: Bharata Natyam, Kathakali, Kathak and Manipuri, Kuchipudi, Odissi and Mohini Attam. In addition, there are innumerable folk and tribal dances spread all over the country.There are many types of dance in India, from those which are deeply religious in content to those which are danced on more trivial happy occasions. Classical dances of India are usually always spiritual in content, although this is often true also of Folk dances.

The classical dances are Kathakali and Mohini Attam from Kerala. Kathakali literally means story-play and is an elaborate dance depicting the victory of truth over falsehood. A Striking feature of Kathakali is the use of elaborate make-up and colourful costumes. This is to emphasize that the characters are superbeings from another world, and their make-up is easily recognisable to the trained eye as satvik or godlike, rajasik or heroic, and tamasik or demonic.

Some poses of Mohini Attam

Bharata Natyam

The form is curvaceous, concentrating on the tribhang or the division of the body into three parts, head, bust and torso; the mudras and the expressions are similar to those of Bharatnatyam. Odissi performances are replete with lores of the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, Lord Krishna. It is a soft, lyrical classical dance which depicts the ambience of Orissa and the philosophy of its most popular deity, Lord Jagannath, whose temple is in Puri. On the temple walls of Bhubaneshwar, Puri and Konark the dance sculptures of Odissi are clearly visible.

Kathak from Uttar Pradesh The legendary exponent of Kathak, Birju Maharaj. This north Indian dance form is inextricably bound with classical Hindustani music, and the rhythmic nimbleness of the feet is accompanied by the table or pakhawaj. Traditionally the stories were of Radha and Krishna, in the Natwari style (as it was then called) but the Moghul invasion of North India had a serious impact on the dance. The dance was taken to Muslim courts and thus it became more entertaining and less religious in content. More emphasis was laid on nritta, the pure dance aspect and less on abhinaya (expression and emotion).

. This dance style was originally called jogai which means circular movement. In ancient texts it has been compared to the movement of the planets around the sun. It is said that when Krishna, Radha and the gopis danced the Ras Leela, Shiva made sure that no one disturbed the beauty of the dancing. Parvati, the consort of Lord Shiva also wished to see this dance, so to please her he chose the beautiful area of manipur and re-enacted the Ras Leela. Hundreds of centuries later, in the 11th century, during the reign of Raja Loyamba, prince Khamba of the Khomal dynasty and Princess Thaibi of the Mairang dynasty re-enacted the dance and it became known as Lai-Haraoba, the most ancient dance of Manipur. Singhajit Singh and Charu Siya Mathur

Folk dance of Kashmir: RouffRouff is also a folk dance of Kashmir. It is danced solely by women on festive occasions. Rouff displays simple footwork. Hikat of Himachal Pradesh. This is danced by women, and is a modification of a game played by children. Forming pairs, the participants extend their arms to the front gripping each other's wrists and with the body inclined back, go round and round at the same spot. With wide range and variety of the ethnic groups, Himachal Pradesh is blessed with natural beauty and artistic history. People living in this natural beauty, adorn themselves for the dance at all times of the year, in all regions, and continue to express themselves through music and dance.

The Jhumeila, the Chaunfla of Garhwal and the Hurkia Baolof Kumaon, Uttar Pradesh, are seasonal dances. The Hurkia Baul is performed during paddy and maize cultivation. On a fixed day, after preliminary ritual, the dance is performed in different fields by turns. The name of the dance is derived from hurkia, the drum which constitutes the only musical accompaniment, and baul, the song. The singer narrates the story of battles and heroic deeds, the players enter from two opposite sides and enact the stories in a series of crisp movements. The farmers form two rows and move backwards in unison, while responding to the tunes of the song and the rhythm of the players

Gendi or stilt dancing is fairly common among Gond children of Madhya Pradesh. The dance is popular in the Vindhyas and the Satpura ranges. This is danced in the rainy season; from June to August. The dancer, who has the balance on the Gendi (stilts)) perform it even in water or on marshy surface. The dance is brisk, and ends with a dance in pyramid formation. This is generally confined only to children and the attraction consists in balancing and clever footwork.

Bihu of Assam is the most widespread folk dance in the state and is enjoyed by all, young and old, rich and poor. The dance is part of the Bihu festival, that comes in mid-4 April, when harvesting is done, and continues for about a month. The participants are young men and girls, who gather in the open, in daytime. They dance together, but there is no mixing of the sexes. The dance is supported by drums and pipes. In between, the performers sometimes sing, usually of love. The most common formation is the circle or parallel rows.

The origins of Indian Dance: the Natya ShastraThe Natya Shastra was created in the beginning of Treta Yug by Brahma on the request of Indra and other devas as an object of diversion (Kridaniyaka). As the lower castes (Shudras) were not entitled to listen to the four Vedas (Sama, Yajur, Rig and Atharav), Brahma created the Natya Shastra as the fifth Veda which was open to all, irrespective of caste and creed. Prior to the creation of the Natya Veda, Brahma entered a yogic trance in which he recalled the four Vedas. He drew the recitative (Paathya) from the Rig, songs (Geeta) from the Sama, histronic representation (Abhinaya) from the Yajur and sentiments (Rasa) from the Atharv.These aspects are the four main constituents of the Natya Veda.

Elements of Indian DanceAbhinaya:Abhinaya is common to all Classical Indian dances. Abhinaya is the expressional aspect of dance, or nritya . In contrast to this, Nritta is composed of only pure dance and will feature striking and aesthetic poses, but will have no expressional meaning and symbolism. Abhinaya has been analysed in the Natya Shastra and has been categorised into four types: Angika - or physical, using movements of every part of the body to convey meaning, with hastamudras (hand gestures), mandis (postures) and even the walk of the dancer. Vachikabhinaya - or vocal/verbal, used formally today by members of the orchestra or supporting, non-dancing cast. Aharyabhinaya - or external, expression, mood and background as conveyed by costume, make-up, accessories and sets. Satvikabhinaya - or psychological, shown by the eyes in particular and as a whole by the entire being of the performer, who feels the mood, the character and the emotion as emanating from the self, not as an act or practical presentation.

Images of Classical Indian Dance

In the form of the Lord of Dance, Shiva is known as Nataraj and is worshipped by all Classical Indian dancers.

This is a picture of Guru Shri Prakash Yadagudde. He won 2 scholarships from his native Bangalore, to train further in New Delhi and Madras under U.S. Krishna Rao. He has also trained with Chitra Visweswaran. He has taught over 20 students to Arangetram level and has been teaching in Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan for approx. 15 years. I have had the honour of seeing him dance twice. He is, without a doubt, my favourite dancer.

Odissi dance of Orissa Surupa Sen in a striking Odissi pose

Bijayini Sathpathy, an Odissi exponent. Surupa and Bijayini have both learnt Odissi at Nrityagram (located in the outskirts of Bangalore), founded by the late Protima Gauri Bedi. Surupa Sen in a striking Odissi pose.

Kalamandalam Gopi as Arjunan in Kalakeya Vadham.

Rasleela: Thounaojam Lalitkanta as Krishna and Moirangthem Noopur as Radha. These two young dancers are descendents of great Manipuri dance gurus.

costume A doll dressed up in Manipuri dance costume. Yes she's a Barbie doll and I hate Barbie dolls, but I am partial to this Barbie as she's sporting a dance! Kathak from Northern India. Kathak originates from the word Kathakar, meaning "story-teller". These story tellers in ancient India would relate the mythological tales of Gods using mime, dance and music. The dancers were traditionally men and women who performed within the vicinity of the temples. With the invasion of the Mughals (Muslim ruler) in the 1400s and onwards, the dance was brought into the courts of the rulers. Thus the traditional instruments, such as the pakhawaj (drum) were replaced by the table, and the traditional Hindu ghaagra-choli-odhini dress was ousted in favour of the churidar-pyjama-angharka costume. Kathak has several schools, Jaipuri, Lucknowi, Delhi, Benares and Rayagarhi, of which the first two are the most popular in modern times.

Anila, Nilimmi Devi's daughter in a Kuchipudi pose Mohini Attam of Kerala. Mohini Attam is danced only by women. Mohini (the form of a beautiful dancer that was taken by Lord Vishnu) danced so beautifully in "The Churning of the Ocean" that she distracted the asuras (demons) and thus ensured that the devas (Gods) got the Amrit.

Narasimhachari sisters in an abhinaya pose of Bharata Natyam dance

Lovely pic, eh?.

A wright brothers production

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