In Indian thought, dance, and all art, is basically a religious sacrifice yajna. Art is also regarded as a form of yoga and a discipline sadhana. By AD at the latest, as stated above, the complicated techniques of dance-like acting, as well as the rasa system, were codified in the Natyashastra.
It is significant that in the Indian tradition it is dance, a temporal and corporal form of art, which is regarded as the ascendant art form. It set the measure for other forms of art, since they adopted the theory rasa from the tradition of the Natyashastra.
The Natyashastra sets the physical and dramatic tools for evoking the rasa or the emotional state appropriate to worship. On the other hand, the Silpashastras, manuals of iconography and sculpture, were intended to help in producing the corresponding figurative representations. The final goal of this intricate science of movements, measurements, poses, gestures etc.
Consequently, their imagery shares common aesthetic norms and iconographic features. As early as from the Vedic period — B. Along with dancing human beings and semi-gods of older periods appeared dancing gods, the first of them being the dancing Shiva. The iconography of the Shiva Nataraja, literally meaning the King of Dance, developed over the centuries and reached its crystallised form in Tamil Nadu during the Chola period in approximately the 10th—12th centuries AD.
It was the very period when the art of bronze casting reached its apogee. The Chola sculptors were able to reproduce, in metal, the exact proportions laid down by the Silpashastras and even the tiniest details of the gestures and movements dictated by the Natyashastra. When he executes his cosmic tandava dance of destruction and creation he is surrounded by an arch of glory fringed by flames.
The lower left hand points to his lifted foot, while the lower right hand is shown in pataka mudra. It also enables the sculptor to capture several frozen moments of a movement sequence in a static sculpture.
His right leg is firmly planted on a dwarfish creature, which personifies one of the six enemies of enlightenment. The sculpture is full of symbolism.
The earliest surviving free-standing stone temples were built in the Gupta period. Gradually their plain outer walls were decorated with narrative panels as well as dancing divinities. The West Indian Jain temples of Mt. Abu are also famous for their dance imagery. The styles of sculpture differ and local schools can easily be recognised, but the fundamental portrayal of the movement is mostly rooted in the tradition of the Natyashastra.
The most famous of them are those carved on the towering 9th century gateways of the Shiva temple in Chidambaram. They include ninety-three of the karanas described in the Natyashastra. These small relief panels, together with other similar series and contemporaneous murals depicting dancers, constitute an important source material when one is trying to reconstruct the karana movement cadences of the Natyashastra.
What makes these Chidambaram karana reliefs so particular is that they are accompanied by inscriptions of Sanskrit verses from the Natyashastra. Thus they form a kind of an illustrated dance manual carved in stone. By means of these reliefs and their inscriptions scholars and dancers have tried to reconstruct the ancient karanas since the early 20th century. Each panel shows one dancer in one frozen moment of a movement pattern.
This led the early scholars to believe that karanas were actually static poses, an assumption which later research has renounced. The debate focusing on these panels has been very lively and has led to several attempts to reconstruct the karanas. The so-called guru-sishya system of education indicates a close personal contact between a master and his pupil.
The level of dance performances may have declined in some parts of India, but the skills and knowledge of these traditions were still preserved by the guru families. Thus the revivalists invited prominent gurus to teach new generations of artists at their modern institutes. This is, in fact, still often the case in modern art universities as well.
Even today most of the serious actors and dancers working in the traditional fields of the performing arts privately continue their studies, throughout their careers, with their chosen gurus.
While some dance forms can be awe inspiring, others can be hilarious, and also confusing! You might think, how can someone pretending to change a light bulb, and shaking their legs at the same time, be indulged in a form of dancing?
On the contrary, the formal Indian dancing is an ancient form of art that represents the broader spectrum of the Indian heritage. Indians love to dance. The history of dancing in India dates back to the ancient times. Across various states, and regions of India, dancing is a deep-rooted practice for every household. It is an integral representation of the Indian culture. Indians dance for multiple reasons: to preserve the treasured culture and heritage, celebrate weddings, commemorate festivals, entertain by demonstrating their Bollywood dancing abilities, and for the sake of pure joy and happiness.
India is much like Europe when it comes to uniqueness in language, customs, traditions, and cultures. The diversity of India ensures that every ethnic and geographic region contributes towards the umbrella of different dance forms in the country. Classical dance forms namely, Bharatanatyam , Odissi , Sattriya , Kathakali , Manipuri , Kathak , Kuchipudi , and Mohiniaattam are all originated from different states, signifying the ancient cultural and artistic depth of India.
Additionally, every state of India has their own folk-dance forms. The tribal folklore over centuries have inspired various ethnic tribal legends, dances and music. To keep centuries old customs, mythology, traditions, and practices, significant in the modern world, Indians from all nooks and corners of the country proudly engage in classical and folk-dance activities. Children at school are passionately taught and encouraged to participate in classical dance and music.
Moreover, community centers, local art and culture groups, and dance schools, perform traditional and classical dances in festivals, ceremonies, and community events. At a national level, on the Republic Day of India, participants from all over the country perform in New Delhi, in the presence of top politicians and foreign dignitaries.
This representation showcases the cultural diversity of India, and ensures its continuity. All in all, one of the reasons why Indians love to dance is because they are passionate about their heritage, and are true guardians of their traditional art and culture.
Since its inception in early s, Bollywood has evolved as one of the largest film industries of the world. It has a great influence on a day to day life of every Indian. Indians not only look up to their role models in the industry, they also revere them as Gods.
In addition, regional cinema industries such as Tollywood, Bhojwood, Ollywood, Pollywood, and Sandalwood, to name a few, are also of huge significance to Indians. Dancing, in particular to Bollywood music is a common practice for Indians not only in India, but also around the world.
What used to be a way of portraying Indian classical and folk music, dancing in Indian cinema has evolved to become a fusion of classical, regional, western pop, and funk style of dancing. Nritta is displayed through rhythms and physical movements to musical phrases - it is dance in its purest form. Abhinaya is rooted in expressions and emotions, and aims to bring life to the story behind the dance.
Facial expression and eye movements are essential components. The emphasis in Indian dance is about story telling and expressions contribute to that.
There are a few main facial expressions to show, such as anger, sadness, happiness and love. It should be mainly in the eyes and the eyebrows.
Eyes are heavily lined in black make-up to accentuate their movements. When a dancer uses a flat, flexed foot, this is a nod to a very classic element of dance, rooted in folk style and Bharatnatyam. In the video above, she dances in a blend of traditional Bharatnatyam and contemporary styles.
In Bharatnatyam you bang the feet on the floor, and as you do so, lift up your foot all the way to your glutes and then - bang. These are the basic principles that I learnt as a beginner when I was seven years old. The bounce that dancers often perform in Bollywood dance routines is referred to in English as the chicken step, which can be seen in this YouTube clip. The dancer should put all their weight on one side and lift the right leg from the knee over and over, moving hips in time.
Bells around the ankles - called the Ghunghroo - emphasise skilled foot work and the dancer's timing with music. Kathak dancers should have at least bells, wrapped around the ankles and tied.
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