Like music,Indian dance is also considered part of religion as the first dance ever performed is believed to be the Cosmic Dance of Shiva danced at time of the creation of the universe.Therefore hindus believe that dancing is of divine origin,gifted to mankind at the dawn of creation. Sculptures, paintings and carvings of dancers and musicians have adorned temple walls and palaces,cave temples and the gateways,and buildings both religious and secular from earliest times.Indian dancing is unique in that it has an unbroken tradition going back to the early days of Indian history. Sage Bharata wrote the Natya Shastra,the oldest treatise in the world on the science of dance and music,over 2000 years ago.Even today dancers draw inspiration and guidance from this manual.(It is from Bharata that the oldest school of classical dancing,Bharata Natyam gets it name.)
There are three main divisions in the art of classical dancing.Nritta or pure dance is performed with attractive movements of the body which however convey no message or meaning.Nritya conveys the meaning of the song by means of abhiyana or face movements,mime and hasta-mudra or hand-gestures.Natya means drama and in this,in addition tp pure dance,hand and face gestures in the enactment of drama.
1.The oldest classical dance form and the most developed is Bharat Natyam, with its home in the state of Tamil Nadu,but performed today all over the country.It is an art form with a purely spiritual or devotional base as it had its origin as a temple art.It is a most sophisticated dance style and its mudras or hand-movements,rhythm and foot movements and abhiyana or facial expressions have few equals.The Bhava or emotions of the face are reflective of the heart and soul of the music,which is usually on a spiritual theme.
2.Similar to Bharat Natyam is the Kuchipudi dance-style of Andhra Pradesh.Once only performed by men,the feminine movements are more elaborate as are the face and eye movements.Now performed by women,it is a very attractive dance style with the movements soft and rounded and the themes often sensous.
3.From the state of Orissa,comes the Odissi dance style.The poses from this highly stylized school of classical dancing have been the themes of carvings on temple walls.As such the dance is full of sculpturesque poses in which the dancer bends her body thrice,at the neck,waist and legs.This dance form is very soft and lyrical.Many of the dances are based on the love of Radha and Krishna and are sensuous with the swinging movements.
4.Emanating from the north of India is dance-style,Kathak, based on Katha or story.It is noted for its fast foot movements and the miracles the dancer performs with the bells on his feet.Performed both by men and women,the dances are usually based on stories of Krishna.During Mughal rule,Kathak became a court dance and received much encouragement from the rulers under whom it developed to its present state of perfection.
5.In contrast to the other dance forms is Manipuri,from the state of Mnaipur in north-eastern India.This romantic dance style is soft,flowing and graceful.Each story is enacted in fluid movements with delicate footsteps.There are few vigorous items in this form of dancing like dances with drums.However the major part of an evening’s programme consists of dances depicting the life of Krishna.
6.The south-western corner of India,Kerala is the home of the exciting,higly stylized dance-drama Kathakali.Performed all night in villages,it is also presented in a shorter form on the stage nowadays.Both male and female roles are danced by men.
The artistes who perform train their bodies as if they are made of malleable rubber,and every inch of the body,every muscle and facial nerve is used to express emotion.The dance dramas are drawn from the India epics and the puranas and the characters,good or bad,can be identified by the colour of the make-up(example gods and heroes have green based colour,a red beard is worn by vile persons etc.).The Katahakali make-up takes hours to put on and is an art by itself.There are many other dance forms like the Yakshagana Bayalata of Karnataka,the Chau dances of eastern India,Mohiniattam and Kudiyattam of Kerala and many more.Every sinlge region in India has its own folk dances in addition,which are essential part of the culture of the people.
