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Bharatnatyam)
Bharatanatyam (also spelled as Bharathanatyam, Bharatnatyam or Bharata Natyam) is a classical dance form from South India. It owes its name to Rukmini Devi Arundale's fanciful derivation of Bharata is Bha = Bhava (mood); Ra = Raga (music); ta = Tala (rhythm). However, Bharata is also a name for the country of India and natyam is the Tamil word for the dance-drama art. It was brought onto the stage at the beginning of the 20th century.
Ancient roots
Bharatanatyam is thought to have been created by the Bharata Muni, a Hindu sage, who wrote the Natya Shastra, the scripture of classical Indian dance. It is also called the fifth Veda in reference to the foundation of Hindu religion and philosophy, from whence also sprang the related South Indian musical tradition of Carnatic music. In ancient times it was performed as dasiattam by mandir (Hindu temple) Devadasi's. Many of the ancient sculptures in Hindu temples are based on Bharata Natyam dance postures. In fact, it is the celestial dancers, apsara's, who are depicted in many scriptures dancing the heavenly version of what is known on earth as Bharatanatyam.
Essential ideas of Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam is the manifestation of the South Indian idea of the celebration of the eternal universe through the celebration of the beauty of the material body. In Hindu mythology the whole universe is the dance of the Supreme Dancer, Nataraja, a name for Lord Shiva, the Hindu ascetic yogi and divine purveyor of destruction. Indeed, Shiva's tandava dance of destruction is a central motif in many Bharatnatyam recitals.
Bharatanatyam is considered to be a fire-dance, being the mystic manifestation in the human body of the metaphysical element of fire, is one of the five major styles that include Odissi(element of water), and Mohiniattam (element of air). The movements of an authentic Bharatanatyam dancer resemble the movements of a dancing flame.
However, the contemporary Bharatanatyam is practised as Natya Yoga, a sacred Hindu meditational tradition, only by a few orthodox schools (see Yoga & Dance).
A professional danseuse (patra), according to Abhinayadarpanam (one of the two most authoritative texts on Bharatanatyam), must possess the following qualities. She has to be
(1) young,
(2) slender,
(3) beautiful,
(4) with large eyes,
(5) with well-rounded breasts,
(6) self-confident,
(7) witty,
(8) pleasing,
(9) well-aware of when to dance and when to stop (able to follow the flow of songs and music, and to dance in tact (thalam))
(10) with splendid costumes and
(11) of a happy disposition.
The danseuse must be beautiful, for according to Sangitaratnakara the true dance relates to a beautiful body, and any dance other than this is simply caricatures (VII.1246).
You can easily find out if a particular danseuse is authentic or not by reading about the criteria of a professional danseuse (patra) in the Natya shastra (XXVII.97-98).
The ten disqualifying criteria according to Abhinayadarpanam: (1) women with white specks in the apple of their eye, or (2) women who have scanty hair, or (3) have thick lips, or (4) pendant breasts, or (5) who are either very fat or (6) very thin, or are either (7) very tall or (8) very short, or (9) hunch-backed, or (10) voiceless.
Medieval Decline
The local rulers corrupted the temple dancers devadasis. By that time, devadasis had already gone from being high-status life-long celibate priestesses (brahmacharya) to being lower-status temple servants who were allowed to have children from priests. Later, the British invaders corrupted the devadasis completely and treated them as concubines or even prostitutes. The devadasi system was outlawed in 1988.
Modern Rebirth of Bharatanatyam
Shrimati Rukmini Devi Arundale, raised Bharatanatyam to a puritan art form, divorced from its recently controversial past by "removing objectionable elements" (mostly, the Sringar, or the expressive Tantric elements) from some ogirinal styles of Sadir (such as Pandanallur, Tanjore or Thanjavur, Vazhuvoor, Mysore etc.), according to Shri Sankara Menon. She founded the school Kalakshetra outside the city of Madras to teach it and to promote other studies in Indian music and art. She was one of first teachers to instruct a few men to perform the dance, which until then was the exclusive domain of women, while men, called Nattuvanars, had only been teaching Bharatanatyam without actually performing it. Rukmini was also instrumental in modifying mainly the Pandanallur style of Bharatanatyam and bringing it to the attention of the West after being heavily influenced by Anna Pavlova, a Russian ballet dancer.
It is worth noticing that most of the contemporary Bharata Natyam dancers do not satisfy the criteria for a professional danceuse stated in the scriptures.
Bharatanatyam technique
Includes
Elements of Bharatanatyam
Although most of the contemporary Bharatanatyam ballets are popularly viewed as a form of entertainment, the Natya Shastra-based dance styles were sacred Hindu ceremonies originally conceived in order to spiritually elevate the spectators. Bharatanatyam proper is a solo dance, with two aspects, lasya, the graceful feminine lines and movements, and tandava (the dance of Shiva), masculine aspect. Typically a performance includes:
Ganapati Vandana
A traditional opening prayer to the Hindu god Ganesh, who removes obstacles.
Alarippu
A presentation of the Tala punctuated by simple syllables spoken by the dancer. This really is sort of an invocation to the gods to bless the performance.
Jatiswaram
An abstract dance where the drums set the beat. Here the dancer displays her versatility in elaborate footwork and graceful movements of the body.
Shabdam
The dancing is accompanied by a poem or song with a devotional or amorous theme.
Varnam
The center piece of the performance. It is the longest section of the dance punctuated with the most complex and difficult movements. Positions of the hands and body tell a story, usually of love and the longing for the lover.
Padam
Probably the most lyrical section where the dancer "speaks" of some aspect of love: devotion to the Supreme Being; or of love of mother for child; or the love of lovers separated and reunited.
Thillana
The final section is an abstract dance when the virtuosity of the music is reflected in the complex footwork and captivating poses of the dancer.
The performance concludes with the chanting of a few religious verses as a form of benediction.
Other Important elements
Costume
From the ancient texts and sculptures, one can see that the original costume did not cover most of the dancers' bodies. The medieval times, with the puritanistic drive, caused the devadasis to wear a special, heavy saree that severely restricted the dance movements. There are several varieties of Bharatanatyam costumes, some of which do not restrict the dancer's movements, while the others do. The modern costumes are deeply symbolic, as their purpose is to project the dancer's subtle body, sukshma sharira (cf.aura), in the material world.
Music
The music is in the Carnatic/Karnatic style of south India, "purer" than the classical music of north India (Hindustani music) only in the sense that it was not heavily influenced by traditions, like those of the Persians, from outside of India.
Instruments
Instruments for Bharatanatyam are more often found in the south than in the north, like the mridangam (drum), nagaswaram (a horn suggestive the snake charmer's horn), the flute, violin and veena (stringed instrument traditionally associated with Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of the arts and learning).
Languages
Sanskrit, Tamil (predominant), Telugu and Kannada are traditionally used in Bharatanatyam.
See also
Online multimedia resources
Bibliography
- Bharata (1999) The Natyashastra. English Translation by Rangacharya, A. publication- New Delhi: Munshiram Manohar.
- Bhagyalekshmy, S. (1991) Music and Bharatanatyam. Delhi: Sundeep Prakashan
fr:Bharata natyam
sa:भरत नाट्यम्
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