| August Special Feature Bharatanatyam: Indian Classical Dance |
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| by Heidi M. Pascual Two Madison dance schools are educating our community about one of the most important aspects of Indian culture, Bharatanatyam -- the Kalaanjali School of Dance and Natyarpana School of Dance. They specialize in teaching Bharatanatyam, ne of the oldest and purest classical dance forms of India. The term "Bharatanatyam" comes from the words bhava, which means expression; raga, which means melody; thala, which means rhythm; and natyam, which means dance. Performed onstage as a blending of body movements, rhythmical expressions, and dramatization, Bharatanatyam is said to have been based on the books Natyasaasthram and Abhinaya Darpanam. |
| The dance form is based on adavu (steps) and hasthmudra (hand gestures). There are 64 basic adavu and they are divided into nine parts. Communication is done through bhavabhinaya (facial expression) and hasthamudra. The performance starts with the prayers to God Ganapathi and worship of Nataraja Moorthi. A Bharatanatyam dance performance includes a traditional invocatory prayer for blessing. Pushpanjali (Pushp [flowers] and anjali [offering]; followed by a symmetrical representation of steps with folded hands, called Alarippu (blossoming of the flower); Jathiswaram (adavus or steps with the pleasing play of the eyes, archful movements of the neck, graceful spreading of the hands, and the rhythmical patterns of the feet; Varnam, the central piece of the repertoire which is the most difficult, longest, and interesting blend of body-and-limb movements plus facial expressions; Padam, a dance of pure sel-expression; Thillana, generally the finale; and Mangala Slokam, the dance of gratitude to Gods for a successful performance. The dance normally lasts for two to two-and-half hours. |
| Meenakshi Ganesan, founder and guru of Kalaanjali School of Dance |
| Kripa Baskaran, founder and guru of Natyarpana School of Dance |
| The costume is paijama and jacket of Kanchipuram silk and Banaras silk. The dancer wears a lot of ornaments of shining stones on the neck, ears, hands, and head, jasmine garland in the hair, and foot trinklets with small bells. The music of Bharatanatyam is based on Carnatic classical music. The instruments used are veena, flute, Mridangam, and violin. (Descriptions about the dance came from several sources, particularly from Kalaanjali and Natyarpana literature. ) To learn more about Bharatanatyam, classes, and performances schedules, visit www.kalaanjali.com, or www.natyarpana.com. |
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| Taken from various performances of the Kalaanjali and Natyarpana schools of dance in Madison. |
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| Radhika Muralidharan, Natyarpana's pride! |
| (R) Shivanthi Mahedran of Kalaanjali |