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A professional Bharatanatyam dancer must demonstrate a number of qualities. As Sangitaratnakara puts it, the true dance is connected to the beauty of the body, therefore any other dance is simply a parody (VII.1246).
The AbhinayaDarpana has a sloka that describes Patra Prana Dasha Smrutaha - the ten essentials of the dancer: Javaha (Agility), Sthirathvam (Steadiness), Rekhacha (graceful lines), Bhramari(balance in pirouettes), Drishtir (glance), Shramaha (hard work), Medha (intelligence), Shraddha(devotion), Vacho (good speech), and Geetam (singing ability).
Natya shastra (XXVII.97-98) provides a comprehensive description of a professional Bharathanatyam danseuse patra .
It is worth noting that the male dancers have rarely performed but often taught as nattuvanars. This reflects the traditional Indian view that the woman's body is better suited for performing the dance, while a man's mind is better at analysing and teaching it. It is related to the Purusha-Prakriti dualism embodied in the dualism of the human nature.
Some notable Bharathanatyam dancers
Not all Bharathanatyam celebrities fit the description stated in the sacred scriptures. Very few dancers continue to practise it sufficiently to be able to perform on the stage, therefore the majority of the dancers aged 40+ are considered as gurus rather than as performers.
Some of the contemporary dancers of Bharathanatyam world include
Male dancers
- Aadith Narayan
- L. Narendra Kumar
- S. Shivakumar
Female dancers
- Malavika Sarukkai
- Priyadarsini Govind
- Medha Hari
- Urmila Satyanarayana
- Lakshmi Ramaswamy
- Anita Sivaraman
- Vasanthi Sridhar
- Apsara Ram Kumar
- Sushama Ranganathan
See also
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