Bharatha-Natyam
Bharatha Natyam perfected and stylized over two thousand years still remains as fresh
and fascinating in its richness, traditional movements, aesthetic appeal and variety of
abhinaya. It is also the oldest of all Indian classical dances.
Bharatha Natyam has three components: movements, mime and music. Bharatha in
itself stands for bhava (mood), raga (music), and tala (rhythm) and Natyam stands for
nritta, combined with a.
Bharatha Natyam is a solo, lasya type of a dance which is tender and erotic. It is usually
performed by female dancers and although based on a love theme is devotional. It is
evenly divided into absolute dance and expressive dance.
Usually a Bharatha Natyam performance begins with:
Alarripu
This is also a pure dance without meaning, idea or expression. It is just dancing
to musical scores set to the Tala instead of syllables. It's composed of a complex set of
footwork, abhinaya and statuesque poses with fascinating body movements which keep
to the beat of Mirudanga.
This is an expressional dance with a small, delightful prelude and few abstract and
more pure dance movements. The movements are leisurely and not so elaborate. The
poem or song is of devotional, heroic or amorous theme, usually extolling the virtues of a
God or describing a legend or myth.
This is the climax and culmination of all that had preceded. It judges the skills and
stamina of the dancer. The dancer's talents in abhinaya, pure dance and expressional
skills are all taxed to their full potential. Varnam provides the greatest scope for the
musicians and the dancer.
This follows Varnam and softens the mood and tempo. It is a very expressive dance
which narrates an expression of divine love or pangs of separation in love. The dancer
has to imagine images and scenes of the themes to portray the correct facial expressions
and depict it in its delicate shades of shringar rasa (erotic flavor).
Tillana which is the final item, is another excellent example of pure and abstract dance.
It is entirely governed by the scintillating musical score and incorporates intricate foot
work and sculpturesque poses.
A Bharatha Natya performance is generally concluded with a chanting of a shloga as
benefaction. The music is of carnatic style and the accompanying instruments are tala,
mirudanga, nagaswara or flute, violin and veena. The songs are either in Sanskrit, Tamil
or Kannada, traditional languages of Bharatha Natyam.
It is considered that no other dance can surpass Bharatha Natyam and very few can equal
it in its grace, purity, tenderness and staturesque and sculpturesque poses. It is also a
dance that takes many years of vigorous practice.
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