Bharatanatyam

One of the classical dance forms of
India; some of the others are Kathak,
Orissi, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Chau,
and Manipuri. Bharatanatyam has its
home in the temple towns of the state of
Tamil Nadu, particularly Tanjore city’s
Brhadeshvar temple. This temple is
dedicated to the god Shiva, whose most
famous form is Nataraja, the “Lord of
the Dance.” According to tradition the
name bharata comes not from the sage
Bharata, the reputed author of the text
on dance called the Natyashastra, but
from an acronym of the dance’s three
most important elements: “bha” from
bhava (“feeling”), “ra” from raga
(“melodic mood”), and “ta” from tala
(“rhythm”). The second word in the
name, natyam, simply means “dance.”
Bharatanatyam’s historical roots are
uncertain. The existence of dance can
be dated to the early centuries C.E. since
103
Bharatanatyam
A dancer performs in the classical
Bharatanatyam form. She assumes the pose of
Nataraja, the “Lord of the Dance.”
it is mentioned in the two Tamil epic
poems, Shilappadigaram and
Manimegalai. Carvings at the Shiva
temple in Kanchipuram suggest that
this dance was well developed in the
Pallava dynasty (6th–9th c. C.E.), but
hard evidence for structured temple
dance, including the hereditary dancers
known as devadasis, did not appear
until the Chola dynasty (9th–14th c. C.E.).
Although royal patronage was an important factor in its survival,
Bharatanatyam was performed primarily in the temples until the twentieth century, when the dance began to be
performed on stage.
As an artistic form, the dance’s present technique was codified in the early
nineteenth century by four brothers in
the service of Raja Serfoji II of Tanjore.
Stylistically, Bharatanatyam presents a
sharply geometric line. The most characteristic posture has a stiff upper torso,
with the knees flexed outward in line
with the rest of the body, and the feet
spread gently outward. This posture is a
recurring motif in any performance. As
in all the Indian dances, Bharatanatyam
has a well-developed vocabulary of gesture and expression, which makes it
possible for the dancer to tell complex
stories. Like most other Indian dance
forms, Bharatanatyam has been influenced by the shift from temple to
stage as its primary theater. Although its
roots lie in worship and devotion, the
move to the stage has inevitably disrupted some of these religious connections.
For further information see Mohan
Khokar, Traditions of Indian Classical
Dance, 1984.