There will be no wisdom, no learning, no art, nor

craft, no device, nor action that is not found within

natya."
- Bharata, Natya Sastra

Kuchipudi[pronouncedaskoochipoodi]originofthename
ItderivesitsnamefromthevillageofKuchelapuram,inAndhra
Pradesh,India.Asaclassicalformofdance,dramaandmusic,
KuchipudienjoysauniqueplaceamongtheIndianclassicalidioms.
KuchipudigrewlargelyasaproductoftheBhaktimovement
beginningintheseventhcenturyA.D.Itwasinthe14thcentury,
however,thattheasceticSiddhendraYogiappearedonthesceneand
gaveKuchipudianewdefinitionanddirection.

Story of the village

Almost every corner of the Kuchipudi village, reverberates with
swaras and the jingle of ankle bells, one discovers.
This village is perhaps the only place in India, which has given
its name to a classical dance-form.The history of this village and
its inhabitants is interwoven with the evolution of the exquisite
dance form of Kuchipudi.
This Andhra Pradesh village was originally known variously as
Kuchelapuram,' Kuchelapuri' (one legend holds that Krishna's
devotee Kuchela was from this place ), Kuchennapoodi' (after
Kuchenna, a famous disciple of Siddhendra Yogi) and
Kuchipundi.' It was populated by Bhagavathulu and their
families.
The propagation of bhakti through artists called Bhagavathulu,
who sang the stories of God (Bhagavatam) and danced too, was
common in south India through the centuries. In this region, the
dance was known as Kuchipudi Bharatham. The village has
produced some of the greatest classical dancers and teachers of
the country.
FOR THE LEGIONS OF KUCHIPUDI PRACTITIONERS, THE
VILLAGE REMAINS A HALLOWED SPOT MANY CALL IT AS
PILGRIMAGE CENTRE. MANY OTHERS REFER A VISIT TO THIS
VILLAGE AS TO A WONDERFUL TEMPLE AND CULTURAL
TREASURE.

KUCHIPUDI SPECIAL CHRACTERISTICS

ComparedtotheotherIndianclassicaldancestyles,kuchipudiisclosesttoBharthanatyamin
termsoftechnique,butithasitsownuniquecharacteristic,bothstylesfeatureahalf-sitting
postureasthebasicpositionandstrongrhythmicalfootwork.Butkuchipudihasacertain
light-footednessandmanygracefulhopsandleapsthatdistinguishitfromBhrathanatyam.It
islessangular,withroundedarmmovementsandcharacteristicbobbing,bendingand
swayingmovementswhichareuniquetokuchipudi
Kuchipudiischaracterizedbyfastrhythmsandfluidmovements,creatingauniqueblendof
controlandabandon,strengthanddelicacy.Thisisthereasonwhyitiscalssicla,creativeand
communicativewithadistinctivefeelandflavour.Itisimbuedwithsensuous
Satvikaabhinayamandsucculentvachikabhinayam.Beinganarrativeartformtehemphasisis
onabhinayaandnatya.Duetoitsaffinitywithtehyakshaganastyle,thekuchipuditechnique
hasinitsomebasicelementsoffolkart,especiallyitsprimevalvigour,itsunsophisticated
directnessanditsexquisitelyearthlysensuousnessallmanifestingtheimpactoffolkformwith
itsconcomitanthighenergylevelsalongwithclassicaltouch
Kuchipudidancedramasrepresentahappysynthesisofthisclassicalandfolkrepertoirewith
lessrigidpostures,moreemotionswithfreeandfluidgesturesandmovements.
History of the village
The village of Kuchipudi is six miles away
from Srikakulam, the ancient capital of
Satavahana Empire and benefited from their
patronage towards classical and
performance arts. After the fall of Mauryan
Empire, the Satavahanas extended their
domain in the North West and South, until
Andhra embraced a great portion of the
Indian Peninsula. Satavahanas ruled from
the middle of the 3rd century B.C. to the
first quarter of 3rd century A.D.

Geo-political staus of India from 200 BC to

200 AD:satavahanas expansions toward
North East and North West.

Sri Sidhendra Kala Peetham in Kuchipudi village

However for centuries, the dance-form was confined to Brahmin families and males. They
were forbidden to teach the art to their daughters. All female roles were performed by
men, in a tradition called stree-vesham or bhrukumsa (female impersonation). Groups of
men traveled from village to village enacting stories from the Hindu mythology. As in
Elizabethan theatre men portrayed the roles of women.
The dancers were part of itinerant troupes and often performed throughout the night.
That is why women were kept out, for practical reasons and not because of male
chauvinism, says stree-vesham icon Vedantam Sathyaranarayana Sarma, a Kuchipudiresident.
Therealfactisnoonecanclearlyputaspecificdateonhowthisarthasemergedasafield;however
therearerecordsthatdatebackto4000-5000yearsfrompresentday.Asthesetraditionsemergedand
morematerialdocumentationmethodsweredeveloped,additionalevidencebegantoaccumulateand
helpedusunderstandmoreaboutIndianculturalrootsandvarioussocio-politicalcircumstancesthat
influencedourculture.

Popularization of kuchipudi
Another famous son of this village is the legendary Vempati Chinna Sathyam
who relocated to Chennai. With his outstanding creativity and brilliant
choreography, he spread the art form across India and abroad. His brother
Vempati Pedda Sathyam, Pasumarthi Krishnamurthy and Vedantam
Jagannatha Sarma, followed another pioneer, Vedantam Raghavaiah, to
Chennai and took this sensuous art to the film industry. They choreographed
Kuchipudi-based dance sequences for many Telugu movies. He brought to
life and liveliness this dance forms complete poetic expression of lifes
variegated moods, and expressed them through systematized manifold
rhythmic patterns, melodic gestures and subtle facila expressions, creating a
new world of ecstasy and ethereal existence.