Bharatanatyam

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Bharatanatyam

A Bharatanatyam dancer
Genre Indian classical dance
Origin South India

Bharatanatyam is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in the state of Tamil Nadu.[1][2]
[3] It is one of eight forms of dance recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi [4][5] and it expresses

South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism.[1]
[6][7]

Description of Bharatanatyam by 2nd century CE is noted in the ancient Tamil epic Silappatikaram, while
temple sculptures of 6th to 9th century CE suggest it was a well refined performance art by the mid 1st
millennium CE.[5][8] Bharatanatyam is the oldest classical dance tradition of India.[9] Theoretical
foundations of the Indian classical dance laid out in Natya Shastra.[6] can be traced to various ancient art
forms including Bharatanatyam.

Bharatanatyam style is noted for its fixed upper torso, legs bent or knees flexed ( Aramandi ) out
combined with spectacular footwork, a sophisticated vocabulary of sign language based on gestures of
hands, eyes and face muscles.[8] The dance is accompanied by music and a singer, and typically her guru
is present as the Nattuvanar, director and conductor of the performance and art.[1] The dance has
traditionally been a form of an interpretive narration of mythical legends and spiritual ideas from the
Hindu texts.[4] The performance repertoire of Bharatanatyam, like other classical dances, includes nrita
(pure dance), nritya (solo expressive dance) and natya (group dramatic dance).[4][10]

Bharatanatyam remained exclusive to Hindu temples through the 19th century.[8] It was banned by the
colonial British government in 1910,[11] but the Indian community protested against the ban and
expanded it outside the temples in the 20th century.[8][11][12] Modern stage productions of Bharatanatyam
have incorporated technical performances, pure dance based on non-religious ideas and fusion themes.[5]
[8]

Contents
1 Etymology
2 History
2.1 Devadasis, anti-dance movement, colonial ban and the decline
2.2 Post-colonial revival
3 Repertoire
3.1 Sequence
3.1.1 Alarippu
3.1.2 Jatiswaram
3.1.3 Shabdam
3.1.4 Varnam
3.1.5 Padam
3.1.6 Thillana
3.1.7 Shlokam or Mangalam
3.2 Attire
3.3 Vocal Aspects and Musical Instruments
3.4 Symbolism
4 Modern revival: schools and training centers
5 Gallery
6 In cinema
7 Notes
8 References
9 Bibliography
10 External links

Etymology
Originally known as sadhiraattam or Dashiattam (Tamil: ச ரா ட ), the Indian classical dance form
Bharatanatyam owes its current name, to E Krishna Iyer and Rukmini Devi Arundale, who were
instrumental in modifying mainly the Pandanallur style of dancing bringing it to global attention,
removing the extraneous[by whom?] sringaar (erotic) elements from the dance, which were the
legacy[citation needed] of its Devadasi association in the past. The word Bharata is a mnemonic, consisting
of "bha"–"ra"–"ta".[8] According to this belief, bha stands for bhava (feelings, emotions), ra stands for
raga (melody, framework for musical notes), and ta stands for tala (rhythm).[8][13][14] The term Natya is a
Sanskrit word for "dance". The compound word Bharatanatyam thus connotes a dance that harmoniously
expresses bhava, raga, tala.[13]

History
Dancers at Thanjavur, Brihadeshwara
temple dedicated to Shiva. The temple
has been a major center for
Bharatanatyam since about 1000 CE.[15]

The theoretical foundations of Bharatanatyam are found in Natya Shastra, the ancient Hindu text of
performance arts.[5][16][17]

Natya Shastra is attributed to the ancient scholar Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated
to between 200 BCE and 200 CE,[18][19] but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE.[20] The most
studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters.[18][21]
The text, states Natalia Lidova, describes the theory of Tāṇḍava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, of
bhāva, expression, gestures, acting techniques, basic steps, standing postures—all of which are part of
Indian classical dances.[18][22] Dance and performance arts, states this ancient text,[23] are a form of
expression of spiritual ideas, virtues and the essence of scriptures.[24]

More direct historical references to Bharatnatyam is found in the Tamil epics Silappatikaram (c. 2nd
century CE[25]) and Manimegalai (c. 6th century).[5][8] The ancient text Silappatikaram, includes a story
of a dancing girl named Madhavi; it describes the dance training regimen called Arangatrau Kathai of
Madhavi in verses 113 through 159.[25] The carvings in Kanchipuram's Shiva temple that have been dated
to 6th to 9th century CE suggest Bharatanatyam was a well developed performance art by about the mid
1st millennium CE.[5][8][26]

A 7th century Shiva in A Bharatanatyam

Karnataka pose
Bharatanatyam has helped to inspire musicians, poets, painters, singers and sculptors in Indian history.[27]

A famous example of illustrative sculpture is in the southern gateway of the Chidambaram temple (≈12th
century) dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, where 108 poses of the Bharatnatyam, that are also described
as karanas in the Natya Shastra, are carved in stone.[28][29]
Many of the ancient Shiva sculptures in Hindu temples are the same as the Bharatanatyam dance poses.
For example, the Cave 1 of Badami cave temples, dated to 7th-century,[30] portrays the Tandava-dancing
Shiva as Nataraja.[31][32][33] The image, 5 feet (1.5 m) tall, has 18 arms in a form that expresses the dance
positions arranged in a geometric pattern.[33] The arms of Shiva express mudras (symbolic hand
gestures),[34] that are found in Bharatanatyam.[5][35]

Devadasis, anti-dance movement, colonial ban and the decline

Some colonial Indologists and modern authors have argued that Bharatanatyam is a descendant of an
ancient Devadasi (literally, servant girls of Deva temples) culture, suggesting a historical origin back to
between 300 BCE and 300 CE.[36]ijhjng Modern scholarship has questioned this theory for lack of any
direct textual or archeological evidence.[37][38] Historic sculpture and texts do describe and project
dancing girls, as well as temple quarters dedicated to women, but they do not state them to be courtesans
and prostitutes as alleged by early colonial Indologists.[36] According to Davesh Soneji, a critical
examination of evidence suggests that courtesan dancing is a phenomenon of the modern era, beginning
in the late 16th or the 17th century of the Nayaka period of Tamil Nadu.[36] According to James
Lochtefeld, Bharatanatyam remained exclusive to Hindu temples through the 19th century, only in the
20th century appearing on stage outside the temples.[8] Further, the Maratha rulers of Tanjore patronized
and contributed towards Bharatanatyam.[39]

Rukmini Devi Arundale,

here in 1940, helped
revive Bharatanatyam
after Hindu temple
dancing was banned by
the British colonial
government in 1910.

With the arrival of the East India Company in the 18th century, and British colonial rule in the 19th, many
classical Indian dance forms were ridiculed and discouraged, and these performance arts declined.[40]
Christian missionaries and British officials presented "nautch girls" of north India (Kathak) and
"devadasis" of south India (Bharatanatyam) as evidence of "harlots, debased erotic culture, slavery to
idols and priests" tradition, and Christian missionaries demanded that this must be stopped, launching the
"anti-dance movement" in 1892.[41][42][43] The anti-dance camp accused the dance form as a front for
prostitution, while revivalists questioned the constructed colonial histories.[37][38]

In 1910, the Madras Presidency of the British Empire altogether banned temple dancing, and with it the
Bharatanatyam tradition within Hindu temples.[11]
Post-colonial revival

The 1910 ban triggered powerful protests against the stereotyping and dehumanization of temple dancers.
[11] The Tamil people were concerned that a historic and rich dance tradition was being victimized under

the excuse of social reform.[11][44] The classical art revivalists such as E. Krishna Iyer, a lawyer and
someone who had learnt the Bharatanatyam dance, questioned the cultural discrimination and the
assumed connection, asking why prostitution needs years of learning and training for performance arts
such as the Bharatanatyam, and how can killing performance arts end any evils in a society?[45][46] Iyer
was arrested and sentenced to prison on charges of nationalism, who while serving out his prison term
persuaded his fellow political prisoners to support Bharatanatyam.[47]

While the British colonial government enforced laws to suppress Bharatanatyam and all Hindu temple
dances, some from the West such as the American dancer Esther Sherman moved to India in 1930, learnt
Indian classical dances, changed her name to Ragini Devi, and joined the movement to save and revive
Bharatanatyam and other ancient dance arts.[48]

The Indian independence movement in early 20th century, already in progress, became a period of
cultural ferment and initiated an effort by its people to reclaim their culture and rediscover history.[41][49]
[50] In this period of cultural and political turmoil, instead of Bharatnatyam becoming extinct, it expanded
out of Hindu temples and was revived as a mainstream dance by Bharatnatyam artists such as Rukmini
Devi Arundale, Balasaraswati and Yamini Krishnamurti[51][52][53] They championed and performed the
Pandanallur (Kalakshetra) and Thanjavur styles of Bharatanatyam, respectively.[52]

In late 20th century, Tamil Hindu migrants reintroduced the Bharatanatyam traditions of temple dancing
in British Tamil temples.[54]

Repertoire

Bharatanatyam requires
expression, posture and
rhythm.

Bharata Natyam is traditionally a team performance art that consists of a female solo dancer,
accompanied by musicians and one or more singers. The theory behind the musical notes, vocal
performance and the dance movement trace back to the ancient Natya Shastra, and many Sanskrit and
Tamil texts such as the Abhinaya Darpana.[55][56]
The solo artist (ekaharya) in Bharatanatyam is dressed in a colorful Sari, adorned with jewelry who
presents a dance synchronized with Indian classical music.[55] Her hand and facial gestures are codified
sign language that recite a legend, spiritual ideas or a religious prayer derived from Hindu Vedic
scriptures, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Puranas and historic drama texts.[55][57] The dancer
deploys turns or specific body movements to mark punctuations in the story or the entry of a different
character in the play or legend being acted out through dance (Abhinaya). The footwork, body language,
postures, musical notes, the tones of the vocalist, aesthetics and costumes integrate to express and
communicate the underlying text.[55][58]

In modern adaptations, Bharata Natyam dance troupes may involve many dancers who play specific
characters in a story, creatively choreographed to ease the interpretation and expand the experience by the
audience.[59]

The repertoire of Bharatanatyam, like all major classical Indian dance forms, follows the three categories
of performance in the Natya Shastra. These are Nritta (Nirutham), Nritya (Niruthiyam) and Natya
(Natyam).[57]

The purpose
Bharata Natyam is an art which
consecrates the body (...)
the dancer, who dissolves her identity
in rhythm and music, makes her body
an instrument, at least for the duration
of the dance, for the experience and
expression of the spirit.
The traditional order of Bharata
Natyam recital viz. alarippu,
jatiswaram, varnam, padams, tillana
and the shloka is the correct sequence
in the practice of this art, which is an
artistic Yoga, for revealing the spiritual
through the corporeal.

—T Balasaraswati, a Bharatanatyam
devadasi[60][61]

The Nritta performance is abstract, fast and rhythmic aspect of the dance.[62] The viewer is
presented with pure movement in Bharatanatyam, wherein the emphasis is the beauty in motion,
form, speed, range and pattern.[57] This part of the repertoire has no interpretative aspect, no telling
of story. It is a technical performance, and aims to engage the senses (prakriti) of the audience.[63]
The Nritya is slower and expressive aspect of the dance that attempts to communicate feelings,
storyline particularly with spiritual themes in Hindu dance traditions.[62] In a nritya, the dance-
acting expands to include silent expression of words through gestures and body motion set to
musical notes. The actor articulates a legend or a spiritual message. This part of a Bharatanatyam
repertoire is more than sensory enjoyment, it aims to engage the emotions and mind of the viewer.
[57][63]

The Natyam is a play, typically a team performance,[10] but can be acted out by a solo performer
where the dancer uses certain standardized body movements to indicate a new character in the
underlying story. A Natya incorporates the elements of a Nritya.[57]

Sequence
The traditional Bharatanatyam performance follows a seven-part order of presentation. This set is called
margam.[60][64]

Alarippu

The presentation begins with a rhythmic invocation (vandana) called the Alaripu.[14] It is a pure dance,
which combines a thank you and benediction for blessings from the gods and goddesses, the guru and the
gathered performance team. It also serves as a preliminary warm up dance, without melody, to enable to
dancer to loosen her body, journey away from distractions and towards single-minded focus.[60]

Jatiswaram

The next stage of the performance adds melody to the movement of Alarippu, and this is called
Jatiswaram.[14][60] The dance remains a prelim technical performance (nritta), pure in form and without
any expressed words. The drums set the beat, of any Carnatic music raga (melody). She performs a
sequence (Korvai) to the rhythm of the beat, presenting to the audience the unity of music, rhythm and
movements.[60]

Shabdam

The performance sequence then adds Shabdam (expressed words).[65] The solo dancer, the vocalist(s) and
the musical team, in this stage of the production, present short compositions, with words and meaning, in
a spectrum of moods.[66]

Varnam

The Varnam part of

Bharatanatyam emphasizes
expressive dance.

The performance thereafter evolves into the Varnam stage.[65] This marks the arrival into the sanctum
sanctorum core of the performance.[60] It is the longest section and the nritya. A traditional Varnam may
be as long as 30–45 minutes or sometimes an hour. Varnam offer huge scope for improvisation and an
experienced dancer can stretch the Varnam to a desirable length. The artist presents the play or the main
composition, reveling in all her movements, silently communicating the text through codified gestures
and footwork, harmoniously with the music, rhythmically punctuated. The dancer performs complicated
moves, such as expressing a verse at two speeds.[67] Her hands and body tell a story, whether of love and
longing, or of a battle between the good and the evil,[68] as the musicians envelop her with musical notes
and tones that set the appropriate mood.[66]

Padam
The Padam is next.[65][69] This is the stage of reverence, of simplicity, of abhinaya (expression) of the
solemn spiritual message or devotional religious prayer (bhakti). The music is lighter, the chant intimate,
the dance emotional.[67][70] The choreography attempts to express rasa (emotional taste) and a mood,
while the recital may include items such as a keertanam (expressing devotion), a javali (expressing divine
love) or something else.[67][69]

Thillana

The performance sequence ends with a Tillana, the climax.[65] It closes out the nritya portion, the
movements exit the temple of expressive dance, returning to the nritta style, where a series of pure
movement and music are rhythmically performed. Therewith the performance ends.[60][67][note 1]

Shlokam or Mangalam

The seventh and final item in the sequence can be either a Shlokam or a Mangalam. The dancer calls for
blessings on the people all around.[73]

The overall sequence of Bharatanatyam, states Balasaraswati, thus moves from "mere meter; then melody
and meter; continuing with music, meaning and meter; its expansion in the centerpiece of the varnam;
thereafter, music and meaning without meter; (...) a non-metrical song at the end. We see a most
wonderful completeness and symmetry in this art".[74]

Costumes in Bharatanatyam

Attire

The attire of a Bharatanatyam dancer resembles a Tamil Hindu's bridal dress. It consists of a fitted,
brilliantly colored Sari which is mainly of warm colors with mirrors on them. The Sari is made of a
specially stitched pleated cloth which falls in front and opens like a hand fan when she flexes her knees or
performs footwork. The Sari is worn in a special way, wrapped upwards along the back and tightly to the
body contour, past one shoulder, with its end held at the waist by a jeweled belt.[75]

The dancer is typically adorned with jewelry on her ear, nose, and neck that outlines her head or hair. Her
face has conventional makeup, eyes lined and ringed by collyrium, which help viewers see her eye
expressions.[76] Her hair is tied up in the traditional way, often braided in with fragrant flowers (veni or
gajra). She wears one or more leather anklets (ghungroos).[77][78]

The outlines of the dancer's fingers and feet may be partially colored red with kumkum powder or alta, a
costume tradition that helps the audience more easily view her hand and foot gestures.[79]

Vocal Aspects and Musical Instruments

The accompanying music to Bharatanatyam is in the Carnatic style of South India, as is the recitation and
chanting.[80] The vocalist is called the nattuvanar, typically also the conductor of the entire performance,
who may be the guru of the dancer and may also be playing cymbals or one of the musical instruments.
[71][81] The recited verses and text in Bharatanatyam are in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Sanskrit.[82]

The instruments used include the mridangam (double-sided drum), nadaswaram (long type of oboe made
from a black wood), nattuvangam (cymbals), the flute, violin and veena.[71][76]

Symbolism
Bharatanatyam, like all classical dances of India, is steeped in symbolism, both in its abhinaya (acting)
and its goals. The roots of abhinaya appear in the Natyashastra text, which defines drama in verse 6.10 as
something that aesthetically arouses joy in the spectator, through the medium of actor's art of
communication, that helps connect and transport the individual into a sensual inner state of being.[83] A
performance art, asserts Natyashastra, connects the artists and the audience through abhinaya (literally,
"carrying to the spectators"), that is applying body-speech-mind and scene, wherein the actors
communicate to the audience, through song and music.[83] Drama in this ancient Sanskrit text, thus is an
art that engages every aspect of life to glorify and give a state of joyful consciousness.[84]