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(also see classes and workshops)
Bharata Natyam is a classical East Indian dance form that has its roots in the dance that used to be performed by the temple dancers of southern India.
In early medieval times the tradition of temple dancers called devadasis started to be widespread. These dancers were women that were dedicated to a temple. They were not married but were ritually married to the God in the temple.
The work of the devadasis was to dance in front of the deity and also at festivals in and around the temple. They were well provided for by the temple, with housing and salary.
Unfortunately this system declined and the dancers ended up facing a lot of hardship until they were banned from the temples in our century. But thanks to the hard work of a few outstanding dancers, today the dance has been revived and is now very popular again. Today it is a stage art but it has kept the traditions from the temples with the same technique and repertoire.
In this dance form there is one part that is purely technical, where the feet are used to stamp different intricate rhythms while the hands and eyes do ornamental movements. The other part of the dance is where the hands and facial expression together with the body movement are used to portray stories from the Hindu mythology.
I started my studies in Bharata Natyam in 1984 with Sri Kama Dev, who was at the time teaching in Paris, France. In 1987 I went for the first time to Chennai, India to continue my studies. I was very lucky to meet my teacher Smt Savithri Jagannatha Rao who has taught me ever since. At the same time I asked to learn Abhinaya, the mimic part of Indian Dance from Smt Kalanidhi Narayanan, who let me start learning from her students Uma Maheshwari and later Nityakalyani. In 1992 Kalanidhi Narayanan started to teach me herself. I feel very happy to have had the privilege to learn this art form. I have been performing and teaching Bharata Natyam for the last 15 years.
In a performance or lecture demonstration I will tell about the dance its origins, history and meaning as well as perform dance pieces.
In a workshop I will teach basic rhythmical steps, poses and hand gestures and if time permits a dance item. I will also introduce the students to the origin, history and meaning of the dance.
There are a number of different kinds of dance items in Bharata Natyam.
Some items are abstract, consisting of various steps with rhyths stamped by the feet; like the Alarippu, the Jetiswaram and the Thillana. Some items are a mixture of abstract, rhythmical steps and description of a deity or a story; like the Kautuam, the Sabdam and the Varnam. Some are telling a story with the help of handgestures and mime.
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Two examples of dance items that tell stories are:
Padams
Padams are danced poems, usually with a romantic theme, describing the love between a woman and one of the Gods. There are eight different heroines depicted:
The one who is happy and proud
The one who is waiting for her beloved
The one who has waited for a long time and is worried
The one who goes out to meet her beloved
The one who sees her beloved with somebody else
The one who is angry and does not let him enter her house
The one who regrets her harsh words
The one who is separated from her beloved Dance Dramas
Dance Dramas are whole stories danced and enacted.
NARASIMHA AVATARA
A very powerful demon king is terrorizing the world. He has obtained a boon from Bramha; he cannot be killed by humans, gods or animals or with weapons, by day or by night, in doors or out doors, and not on the ground or in the air.
Vishnu takes the form of half lion half human and kills him at dusk, on the porch of his palace and with his claws as weapons.
Choreography by Sri A Janardanan
SRI BALA KRISHNA LEELA
This dance drama tells about Krishna as a child.
One day when his mother turns her head he eats sand. When his mother tells him to open his mouth to spit it out she sees the whole universe in the Childs mouth.
It also tells about how Krishna saves his people and all the animals from a terrible rain by lifting a mountain on his little finger and holding it up as an umbrella.
Choreography by Savithri Jagannatha Rao
RAMANATAKAM
Vishnu takes the forma of prince Rama to defeat the demon Ravana.
He is born as a prince but due to palace intrigues, is sent into exile in the forest for 14 years together with his brother Lakshmana and his wife Sita. There Sita is abducted by Ravana but Rama saves her with the help of Lakshmana and the monkey God Hanuman.
Choreography by Srimati Savithri Jagannatha Rao
AMRITA MATHANAM
This is the story about when the Gods and the demons churned the milk ocean to obtain the nectar of immortality.
Choreography by Sri A Janardanan
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