INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE

The six recognized schools of Indian classical dance developed as a part of religious ritual in which dancers worshipped the gods by telling stories about their lives and exploits. The principles of Indian Classical dance is derived from ‘Natya Shastra’ by Bharat Muni. He traces its origin from lord Bramha. Lord Bramha created a fifth veda known as ‘Natyaveda’, representing the essence of four existing Vedas. For example, Pathya (words) were taken from Rigveda, Abhinaya(gestures) from Yajurveda, Geet(music) from Samaveda, Rasa(emotions) from Atharvaveda.

Three main components form the basis of these dances. They are natya, the dramatic element of the dance (i.e., the imitation of character); nritta, pure dance, in which the rhythms and phrases of the music are reflected in the decorative movements of the hands and body and in the stamping of the feet; and nritya, the portrayal of mood through facial expression, hand gesture, and position of the legs and feet.

There are two basic aspect of Indian classical dance: Tandava – it denotes movement on rhythm that is emphasizing on male characteristics of power strength and firmness. Lasya - it denotes grace, bhava, rasa and abhinaya, which represents the feminine aspect of dance.

The style of movement in Indian classical dance is very different from that of Western ballet. In ballet the emphasis is frequently on the action of the legs—in jumps, turns, and fast traveling steps, which create ballet’s characteristic qualities of height, speed, and lightness—while the body itself remains relatively still and the arms simply frame the face or balance the body. In Indian dance, however, the legs are usually bent, with the feet flat rather than lifted and pointed. Jumps are usually low (though light), and the dancer rarely covers much ground or performs intricate steps, the complexity of the footwork lying more in elaborate stamping rhythms. (These stamping rhythms enhance the musicality of the dance; many dancers wear bells around their ankles, supplying their own accompaniment as well as counterpoint to the rhythms beaten out by the musicians.) The torso, face, arms, and hands are extremely active. The head is quite mobile, with subtle changes of direction and a characteristic side-to-side movement emphasizing the dancer’s changing facial expressions. The movement of the torso is graceful and fluid, shifting from side to side or turning on the axis of the spine, while the movement of the hands and arms is subtle and elaborate, every gesture having a narrative function. Indian dancers have a vast repertoire of gestures through which they express complex events, ideas, and emotions. There are, for example, 13 gestures of the head, 36 different glances, and 67 mudras, or hand gestures, that can, in various combinations, yield several thousand different meanings.

Sangeet Natak academy has given the status of classical dance to the following dance forms;