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Indian
Classical Dances
Dance
in India has a rich and vital tradition
dating back to ancient times. Excavations,
inscriptions, chronicles, genealogies
of kings and artists, literary sources,
sculpture and painting of different periods
provide extensive evidence on dance.
Myths and legends also support the view
that dance had a significant place in
the religious and social life of the
Indian people. However, it is not easy
to trace the precise history and evolution
of the various dances known as the 'art'
or 'classical' forms popular today.
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Dancer,
Pre-historic Cave painting, Bhimbetka,
Madhya Pradesh |
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Palm
leaf manuscript, Bihar
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In
literature, the first references
come from the Vedas where
dance and music have their roots.
A more consistent history of dance
can be reconstructed from the epics,
the several Puranas and
the rich body of dramatic and poetic
literature known as the nataka and
the kavya in Sanskrit.
A related development was the evolution
of classical Sanskrit drama which
was an amalgam of the spoken word,
gestures and mime, choreography,
stylised movement and music. From
the 12th century to the 19th century
there were many regional forms
called the musical play or sangeet-nataka.
Contemporary classical dance forms
are known to have evolved out of
these musical plays.
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Excavations
have brought to light a bronze
statuette from Mohenjodaro and
a broken torso from Harappa (dating
back to 2500-1500 B.C.E.) These
are suggestive of dance poses.
The latter has been identified
as the precursor of the Nataraja
pose commonly identified with
dancing Siva.
The earliest treatise on dance available to us is Bharat Muni's Natyashastra,
the source book of the art of drama, dance and music. It is
generally accepted that the date of the work is between the
2nd century B.C.E- 2nd century C.E.The Natyashastra is
also known as the fifth veda. According to the author,
he has evolved this veda by taking words from the Rigveda,
music from the Samaveda, gestures from the Yajurveda and
emotions from the Atharvaveda. There is also a legend
that Brahma himself wrote the Natyaveda, which has
over 36,000 verses.
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Dancing
girl, Bronze, Indus
civilization
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In
terms of the classical tradition
formulated in the Natyashastra,
dance and music are an inextricable
part of drama. The art of natya carries
in it all these constituents and
the actor is himself the dancer
and the singer, the performer combined
all the three functions. With the
passage of time the status of an
independent and specialised art,
marked the beginning of the 'art'
dance in India.
As
per the ancient treatises, dance
is considered as having three
aspects: natya, nritya and nritta.
Natya highlights the dramatic
element and most dance forms
do not give emphasis to this
aspect today with the exception
of dance-drama forms like Kathakali. Nritya is
essentially expressional, performed
specifically to convey the meaning
of a theme or idea. Nritta on
the other hand, is pure dance
where body movements do not express
any mood (bhava), nor do they
convey any meaning. To present
nritya and natya effectively,
a dancer should be trained to
communicate the navarasas.
These are: love (shringaara),
mirth (haasya), compassion (karuna),
valour (veera), anger (roudra),
fear (bhayanak), disgust (bibhatsa),
wonder (adbhuta) and
peace (shaanta).
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An
ancient classification followed
in all styles is of Tandava and Lasya. Tandava the
masculine, is heroic bold and vigorous. Lasya the
feminine is soft, lyrical and graceful. Abhinaya,
broadly means expression. This
is achieved through angika,
the body and limbs, vachika song
and speech and aharya,
costume and adornment; and satvika,
moods and emotions. |
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Bharata
and Nandikesvara, the main
authorities conceive of
dance as an art which uses
the human body as a vehicle
of expression. The major
human units of the body (anga) are
identified as the head,
torso, the upper and lower
limbs and the minor human
parts (upangas),
as all parts of the face
ranging from the eyebrow
to the chin and the minor
joints.
Two further aspects of natya are the modes of
presentation and the style. There are two modes of presentation,
namely the Natyadharmi, which is the formalised
presentation of theatre, and the Lokadharmi sometimes
translated as folk, realistic, naturalistic or regional.
The style or vrittis are classified into Kaishiki,
the deft lyrical more suited to convey the lasya aspects,
the Arbati, the energetic masculine the Satvati often
used while depicting the rasas and the Bharati,
the literary content.
Nurtured for centuries, dance in India has evolved in
different parts of the country its own distinct style
taking on the culture of that particular region, each
acquiring its own flavour. Consequently a number of major
styles of 'art' dance are known to us today, like Bharatnatyam,
Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Manipuri, Odissi and Sattriya.
Then, there are regional variations, the dances of rural
and tribal areas, which range from simple, joyous celebrations
of the seasons, harvest or birth of a child to dances
for the propitiation of demons or for invoking spirits.
Today there is also a whole new body of modern experimental
dance.
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Natraja
Bronze Sculpture,
Chola period
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Under
the aegis of Ministry
of Culture,
Government of India
15-A, Sector - 7, Dwarka, New Delhi - 110075
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Centre for Cultural Resources and Training
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Telephone:(011)
25088638,
47151000
Fax: 91-11-25088637,
Gram: CENCULT
E-mail:- dg.ccrt@nic.in
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