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ClassicalDances
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PerformingArts

ClassicalDances

Dance in India has a rich and vital tradition dating back to ancient
times.Excavations,inscriptions,chronicles,genealogiesofkingsand
artists, literary sources, sculpture and painting of different periods
provide extensive evidence on dance. Myths and legends also
support the view that dance had a significant place in the religious
andsociallifeoftheIndianpeople.However,itisnoteasytotrace
theprecisehistoryandevolutionofthevariousdancesknownasthe
'art'or'classical'formspopulartoday.

1.DancesofIndia
ClassicalDances
BharatnatyamDance
KathakaliDance
KathakDance
ManipuriDance
OdissiDance
KuchipudiDance
SattriyaDance
MohiniyattamDance

2.MusicofIndia
HindustaniClassicalMusic
CarnaticClassicalMusic
RegionalMusic
MusicalInstruments

Dancer,PrehistoricCavepainting,
Bhimbetka,MadhyaPradesh

3.TheatreFormsofIndia
TheatreForms

4.PuppetFormsofIndia
PuppetForms

Inliterature,thefirstreferencescomefromtheVedaswheredanceandmusichavetheirroots.Amoreconsistent
historyofdancecanbereconstructedfromtheepics,theseveralPuranasandtherichbodyofdramaticandpoetic
literature known as the nataka and the kavya in Sanskrit. A related development was the evolution of classical
Sanskritdramawhichwasanamalgamofthespokenword,gesturesandmime,choreography,stylisedmovement
and music. From the 12th century to the 19th century there were many regional forms called the musical play
orsangeetnataka.Contemporaryclassicaldanceformsareknowntohaveevolvedoutofthesemusicalplays.

Palmleafmanuscript,Bihar

Excavations have brought to light a bronze statuette from Mohenjodaro and a broken torso from Harappa (dating back to
25001500B.C.E.)Thesearesuggestiveofdanceposes.ThelatterhasbeenidentifiedastheprecursoroftheNatarajapose
commonlyidentifiedwithdancingSiva.
TheearliesttreatiseondanceavailabletousisBharatMuni'sNatyashastra,thesourcebookoftheartofdrama,danceand
music. It is generally accepted that the date of the work is between the 2nd century B.C.E 2nd century
C.E.TheNatyashastraisalsoknownasthefifthveda.Accordingtotheauthor,hehasevolvedthisvedabytakingwordsfrom
theRigveda,musicfromtheSamaveda,gesturesfromtheYajurvedaandemotionsfromtheAtharvaveda. There is also a
legendthatBrahmahimselfwrotetheNatyaveda,whichhasover36,000verses.

Dancinggirl,Bronze,
Induscivilization
IntermsoftheclassicaltraditionformulatedintheNatyashastra,danceandmusicareaninextricablepartofdrama.Theartofnatyacarriesinitall
theseconstituentsandtheactorishimselfthedancerandthesinger,theperformercombinedallthethreefunctions.Withthepassageoftimethe
statusofanindependentandspecialisedart,markedthebeginningofthe'art'danceinIndia.
As per the ancient treatises, dance is considered as having three aspects: natya, nritya andnritta.Natya highlights the dramatic element and most
dance forms do not give emphasis to this aspect today with the exception of dancedrama forms like Kathakali. Nrityais essentially expressional,
performedspecificallytoconveythemeaningofathemeoridea.Nrittaontheotherhand,ispuredancewherebodymovementsdonotexpressany
mood(bhava),nordotheyconveyanymeaning.Topresentnritya and natya effectively, a dancer should be trained to communicate the navarasas.
These are: love (shringaara), mirth (haasya), compassion (karuna), valour(veera), anger (roudra), fear (bhayanak), disgust (bibhatsa),
wonder(adbhuta)andpeace(shaanta).

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AnancientclassificationfollowedinallstylesisofTandavaandLasya.Tandavathemasculine,isheroicboldandvigorous.Lasyathefeminineissoft,
lyrical and graceful. Abhinaya, broadly means expression. This is achieved through angika, the body and limbs, vachikasong and speech and aharya,
costumeandadornmentandsatvika,moodsandemotions.

BharataandNandikesvara,themainauthoritiesconceiveofdanceasanartwhichusesthehumanbodyasavehicle
ofexpression.Themajorhumanunitsofthebody(anga)areidentifiedasthehead,torso,theupperandlowerlimbs
andtheminorhumanparts(upangas),asallpartsofthefacerangingfromtheeyebrowtothechinandtheminor
joints.
Two further aspects of natya are the modes of presentation and the style. There are two modes of presentation,
namelytheNatyadharmi,whichistheformalisedpresentationoftheatre,andtheLokadharmisometimestranslatedas
folk, realistic, naturalistic or regional. The style or vrittis are classified into Kaishiki, the deft lyrical more suited to
convey the lasya aspects, the Arbati, the energetic masculine the Satvati often used while depicting the rasas and
theBharati,theliterarycontent.
Nurturedforcenturies,danceinIndiahasevolvedindifferentpartsofthecountryitsowndistinctstyletakingonthe
cultureofthatparticularregion,eachacquiringitsownflavour.Consequentlyanumberofmajorstylesof'art'dance
areknowntoustoday,likeBharatnatyam,Kathakali,Kuchipudi,Kathak,Manipuri,OdissiandSattriya.Then,thereare
regionalvariations,thedancesofruralandtribalareas,whichrangefromsimple,joyouscelebrationsoftheseasons,
harvestorbirthofachildtodancesforthepropitiationofdemonsorforinvokingspirits.Todaythereisalsoawhole
newbodyofmodernexperimentaldance.

NatrajaBronze
Sculpture,Cholaperiod

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