ORIGIN
The dance is one of the most widely practiced forms of Indian classical dance. Though it originated in tamil nadu, it is practiced in almost all parts of the country. The dance was formed by amalgamating a number of elements from dassi attam and sadr. Dassi attam was practiced by deva dassis or the girls who danced in the temple and the sadr was practiced in palaces of south India.
There are a number of musicians who accompany a Bharatnatyam performance, the 'mridangam' is the person who recites the dance syllables and frequently will play an instrument called the ‘manjira’. Additionally there is someone playing the ‘veena’ or the ‘veenu’ which is a bamboo flute. The 'hasta mudras' (hand positions), the 'bhava abhinayas' (facial expressions) and the 'padams' (narrative dances) form the basis of any performance. Normally a performance will last for two and a half hours.
The costume is paijama and jacket of Kanchipuram silk and Banaras silk. The dancer wears a lot of ornaments of shining stones on neck, ears, hands, and head, jasmin garland in the hair and foot trinklet with small bells.
IMPORTANT TERMS
There are a number of well defined of items.
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Alarippu is a traditional invocation.
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Jatis are strict compositions based upon the different time-signatures.
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Another piece is the Sabdam; this is an interpretative narrative, usually performed in seven beats.
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Another form is the Varanam; these are elaborate descriptions of the nature of God.
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A piece which is usually performed toward the end of the performance is the Tillana; this is a purely abstract form devoid of narrative.
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The performance ends with a Mangalam; this is a short Shloka or prayer in praise of God.
FAMOUS BHARATNATYAM DANCERS
- Bala Saraswathi
- Mrinalini Sarabhai
- Rugmini Arundel
- Kamala Laxman
- Padma Subrahmaniam
- Chithra Visweswaran.