An illustration of theManipuri Raas Leela Dance (Meitei:Jagoi Raas, Raas Jagoi), one of the officially recognised classical dance forms of India, depicted on a postage stamp fromArmenia.
Each dance tradition originates and comes from a different state and/or region of India; for example, Bharatanatyam is fromTamil Nadu in the south of India, Odissi is from the east coast state ofOdisha, Manipuri is from the northeastern state ofManipur and Gaudiya Nritya is from the state ofWest Bengal.[15][16] The music associated with these different dance performances consists many compositions inHindi,Malayalam,Meitei (Manipuri),Sanskrit,Tamil,Odia,Telugu,Assamese,Bengali and many other Indian-Subcontinent languages; they represent a unity of core ideas and a diversity of styles, costumes, and expression.
Indian classical dancing started around 200 BCE in India, as a joyful and celebratory activity, often in devotion to Hindu deities. Many of the performances are choreographed to retell stories of the gods and other historical accounts. All styles of Indian classical dance are vibrant, expressive, and spiritual. Dance performances usually take place at festivals, universities, various cultural events, and more. The dancers who perform these styles are usually professionals who have devoted years of study and practice in their respective style of Indian classical dance. In performances, the dancers move to the beat of the song or music that is playing; in some styles, such as Kathak, bells are worn around the ankles at times for added rhythmic effect when the feet are stomped. The dancer takes the role of the character that they are portraying in the performance, the composition being specific, and become emotionally connected with the story and the audience.[17]
When dancers perform classical Indian dancing, they wear traditional clothes includingsarees,lehengas, andkurtas. The costume for women usually consists of a long, colorful, handmade gown (worn without shoes), with an intricately embroidered pattern(s) and beading on it. For accessories, there is the use of much ornate jewelry, such as necklaces, rings, earrings, nose-rings, bracelets and anklets, sometimes with bells attached which ring each time the dancer stomps their foot in rhythm. The costume also includes a head-piece or some form of scarf, depending on the style. The women usually wear considerable amounts of facial makeup, not only to be noticeable from the audience, but to fully embody their character.[18]
TheNatya Shastra is the foundational treatise for classical dances of India,[4][19] and this text is attributed to the ancient scholarBharata Muni.[6][20][21] Its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE,[22][23] but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE.[24] The most studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters.[22][25] The text, states Natalia Lidova, describes the theory ofTāṇḍava 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.[22][26] Dance and performance arts, states this ancient text, are a form of expression of spiritual ideas, virtues, and the essence of scriptures.[27][28]
Performance arts and culture
Let Nātya (drama and dance) be the fifthvedic scripture. Combined with an epic story, tending to virtue, wealth, joy and spiritual freedom, it must contain the significance of every scripture, and forward every art.
While theNatya Shastra is the revered ancient text in the Hindu tradition, there are numerous other ancient and medieval Sanskrit dance-drama related texts that further discuss and expand on the classical repertoire of performance arts, such as theAbhinaya Darpana,Abhinava Bharati,Natya Darpana,Bhava Prakasa and many others.[30][31][32] The term "classical" (Sanskrit: "Shastriya") denotes the ancient Indian Shastra-based performing arts.
The textNatya Shastra describes religious arts as a form asmargi, or a "spiritual traditional path" that liberates the soul, while the folk entertainment is calleddesi, or a "regional popular practice".[33][34][35]
Indian classical dances are traditionally performed as an expressive drama-dance form of religious performance art,[3] related toVaishnavism,Shaivism,Shaktism, pan-Hindu Epics and the Vedic literature, or a folksy entertainment that includes story-telling from Sanskrit or regional language plays.[36] As a religious art, they are either performed inside the sanctum of a Hindu temple, or near it.[1][2] Folksy entertainment may also be performed in temple grounds or any fairground, typically in a rural setting by traveling troupes of artists; alternatively, they have been performed inside the halls of royal courts or public squares during festivals.[37]
However, this is not the case for Kathak, Manipuri and Chhau as it has their own uniqueness. Kathak can be also performed oncourtyards of mosques and hadMuslim elements while Manipuri had thehuyen langlon genre which focuses on combat.[38][39][40][41] Like Manipuri, Chhau also had elements on combat.
The Natya Shastra mentions fourPravrittis (traditions, genres) of ancient dance-drama in vogue when it was composed –Avanti (Ujjain, central),Dakshinatya (south),Panchali (north, west) andOdra-Magadhi (east).[42]
Sources differ in their list of Indian classical dance forms.[43][44]Encyclopædia Britannica mentions six dances.[45] TheSangeet Natak Akademi has given recognition to eight Indian dances.[46] The Indian government's Ministry of Culture includes nine dance forms.[47] Scholars such as Drid Williams and others includeYakshagana andBhagavata Mela to the nine classical Indian dances in the Sangeet Natak Akademi list.[3][11]
The classical dance forms recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Ministry of Culture are:[46][48]
Eight classical dances recognised by the Sangeet Natak Academy and the Ministry of Culture
All major classical Indian dance forms include in repertoire, three categories of performance in theNatya Shastra. These areNritta,Nritya andNatya:[49]
TheNritta performance is an abstract, fast and rhythmic aspect of the dance.[50] The viewer is presented with pure movement, wherein the emphasis is the beauty in motion, form, speed, range and pattern.[49] This part of the repertoire has no interpretative aspect, no telling of the story. It is a technical performance, and aims to engage the senses (Prakriti) of the audience.[51]
TheNritya is slower and expressive aspect of the dance that attempts to communicate feelings, storyline particularly with spiritual themes in Hindu dance traditions.[50] In aNritya, 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 the repertoire is more than sensory enjoyment, it aims to engage the emotions and mind of the viewer.[49][51]
TheNatya is a play, typically a team performance,[52] 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. ANatya incorporates the elements of aNritya.[49][53][54]
All classical dances of India used similar symbolism and rules of gestures inabhinaya (acting). The roots ofabhinaya are found in theNatyashastra text which defines drama in verse 6.10 as that which aesthetically arouses joy in the spectator, through the medium of actor's art of communication, that helps connect and transport the individual into a super sensual inner state of being.[55] A performance art, assertsNatyashastra, connects the artists and the audience throughabhinaya (literally, "carrying to the spectators"), that is applying body-speech-mind and scene, wherein the actors communicate to the audience, through song and music.[55] Drama in this ancient Sanskrit text, this is an art to engage every aspect of life, to glorify and gift a state of joyful consciousness.[56]
The communication through symbols is in the form of expressive gestures (mudras or hastas) and pantomime set to music. The gestures and facial expressions convey theras (sentiment, emotional taste) andbhava (mood) of the underlying story.[57] In Hindu classical dances, the artist successfully expresses the spiritual ideas by paying attention to four aspects of a performance:
Angika (gestures and body language),
Vachika (song, recitation, music and rhythm),
Aharya (stage setting, costume, make up, jewelry),
Sattvika (artist's mental disposition and emotional connection with the story and audience, wherein the artist's inner and outer state resonates).[57]
Abhinaya draws out thebhava (mood, psychological states).[57]
^abJulius Lipner (2012).Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Routledge. p. 206.ISBN978-1-135-24061-5.,Quote: "It would be appropriate here to comment on Hindu classical dance. This developed in a religious context and was given high profile as part of temple worship. There are several regional and other styles as well as source texts, but the point we wish to stress is the participative nature of such dance. In form and content, the heart of dance as worship in Hinduism has always been 'expression' (abhinaya), i.e. the enacting of various themes".
^abJean Holm; John Bowker (1994).Worship. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 85.ISBN978-1-85567-111-9.,Quote: Hindu classical dance-forms, like Hindu music, are associated with worship. References to dance and music are found in the Vedic literature, (...)".
^abcdFrank Burch Brown (2013).The Oxford Handbook of Religion and the Arts. Oxford University Press. pp. 195–196.ISBN978-0-19-972103-0.,Quote: All of the dances considered to be part of the Indian classical canon (Bharata Natyam, Chhau, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, Mohiniattam, Odissi, Sattriya, and Yakshagana) trace their roots to religious practices (...) the Indian diaspora has led to the translocation of Hindu dances to Europe, North America and the world."
^Sarwal, Amit; Walker, David (2015). "Staging a Cultural Collaboration: Louise Lightfoot and Ananda Shivaram".Dance Chronicle.38 (3):305–335.doi:10.1080/01472526.2015.1088286.S2CID166744945.
^Schramm, Harold (1968). "Musical Theatre in India".Asian Music.1 (1). University of Texas Press:31–40.doi:10.2307/834008.JSTOR834008.
^Coorlawala, Uttara Asha (1993). "The Toronto conference on "new directions in Indian dance"".Dance Chronicle.16 (3). Routledge:391–396.doi:10.1080/01472529308569140.
^abCoormaraswamy and Duggirala (1917)."The Mirror of Gesture". Harvard University Press. p. 4.; Also see chapter 36
^Guy L. Beck (2012).Sonic Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition. University of South Carolina Press. pp. 138–139.ISBN978-1-61117-108-2.Quote: "A summation of the signal importance of the Natyasastra for Hindu religion and culture has been provided by Susan Schwartz, "In short, the Natyasastra is an exhaustive encyclopedic dissertation of the arts, with an emphasis on performing arts as its central feature. It is also full of invocations to deities, acknowledging the divine origins of the arts and the central role of performance arts in achieving divine goals (...)".
^abcdMeduri, Avanthi (1988). "Bharatha Natyam-What Are You?".Asian Theatre Journal.5 (1). University of Hawaii Press:3–4.doi:10.2307/1124019.JSTOR1124019.
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