Tandava

Name denoting one of the two broad
categories in Indian dance. The tandava
style is athletic and dramatic and conveys violence and power, whereas the
other dance form, lasya, is soft and lyrical and conveys a mood of love. The tandava style received its name from the
tandava dance of the god Shiva.
According to tradition, this is the dance
through which Shiva destroys the world
when its time has come. Not all of the
dance’s mythic connotations are violent,
since this athletic dance is also said to
be the one through which Shiva vanquished the goddess Kali in a dance
contest, when her feminine modesty
prevented her from imitating his style.