CLASSICAL DANCE

FORMS
OF INDIA
 How drama came into being in the beginning
of Treta Yuga, as a special tool to inspire
people towards goodness.
 Lord Brahma created Natya as a fifth Veda
compiling the aspects of the already existing
four Vedas.
 He took poetry from the Rig Veda, music from
the Saama Veda, communicative methods
from the Yajur Veda and enjoyment (rasa) from
the Atharva Veda.
 Since Lord Brahma wanted this knowledge to
be given to a person of intense 'tapas', he sent
for Bharata Muni and blessed him with this
knowledge, and Bharata then passed it on to
his 105 disciples.

STORY OF NATYOTPATTI
 Natya Veda – Amalgamation of the four
Vedas

1.Script from the Rig Veda,

2.Music from the Sama Veda,
3.Gestures (Abhinaya) or the
mudras from the Yajur Veda
4.Rasas (Sentiments)or the
emotions from the Atharva
Veda.
 LORD SHIVA INTRODUCES THE
ELEMENT OF DANCE (NRITYA) IN
DRAMA(NATYA) FOR THE FIRST TIME.

 On the other hand, Mother Pārvatī, Śiva’s consort, taught

Lāsya movements which stands for elements of grace, softness
and gentle emotions to Uṣhā, sage Bāṇa’s daughter, who then
passed on the art to the women of India.

• After watching the first performance of drama,

Nāṭyaśāstra narrates that Śiva wanted dance and dance
movements to be made a part of drama, and for that sage
Taṇḍu was requested to compose and direct a dance.
• Taṇḍu taught dance movements to Bharata Muni who
made them part of the training of actors and dancers in a
play. This dance came to be called as tāṇḍava,
DANCE/NRITYA CAME INTO
EXISTENCE
UNITS OF NRITYA/DANCE

1. Sthana: Standing position.

UNITS OF NAATYA/DANCE

 2. Chari: Foot and Leg movements.

 UNITS OF NAATYA/DANCE
 3. Nrttahasta: Hands in a dancing position.
KARANA: STHANA + CHARI + NRTTAHASTA = 1 KARANA.
TOTAL 108 KARANAS
Three main components of Dance — Nāṭya, Nṛtya and Nṛtta
 CLASSIFICATION OF DANCE

Tandava

Lasya
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RASA AND BHAVA
 Rasa and Bhava are conveyed through abhinaya or dramatic expression

ABHINAYA
(Dramatic Expression)

The following four aspects are the tools for any dancer to express oneself.

Sāttvikabhinaya
(physical manifestations of
Āṅgikabhinaya mental and emotional
Aahāryabhinaya states)
(gestures of the body) Vācikabhinaya (costume and make-up)
(verbal),
 Different dance forms of India -

1.Bharatanatyam
2.Kathakali
3.Kathak
4.Kuchipudi
5.Manipuri
6.Odissi
7.Sattriya
 1.Bharatanatyam

• In ancient times Bharatanāṭyam was performed as sadiraṭṭam (court dance) by temple

devadāsīs.
• E. Krishna Iyer and Rukmini Devi Arundale renamed sadiraṭṭam as Bharatanāṭyam in the 1930s.
• Bharatanāṭyam was codified and documented as a performing art in the 19th century by the
Tanjore Quartet of Chinnayya, Ponniah, Śivanandam and Vadivelū of the Tanjore Court, during
the rule of Maratha King Saraboji II (1798–1832).
• The Tanjore Quartet completed the process of re-editing the Bharatanāṭyam programme into its
present shape with its various items.
 2. Kathakali

• All aspects of abhinaya— āṅgika, vācika, āhārya, sāttvika — and the three components of the
dance — nāṭya, nṛtta and nṛtya — are unified flawlessly in this form.
• Kathakali is a play based on a story. It is an art which has evolved from many social and religious
theatrical art forms like Cakiarkoṭṭū, Kūdiaṭṭam, Kṛśṇaṭṭam, Rāmaṭṭam.
• The main custodian of Kathakali is the famous poet Vallathol Narayana Menon who established
Kerala Kalamanḍalam in 1930.
 3.Kathak

• Kathak originated in Uttar Pradesh.

• This dance form traces its origins to the nomadic bards of ancient northern India,
known as kathakas (storytellers).
• Its form today contains traces of temple and ritual dances, and the influence of the
bhakti movement.
• From the 16th century onwards, it absorbed certain features of Persian dance and
Central Asian dance which were imported by the royal courts of the Mughal era.
4.KUCHIPUDI
• Kucipudī is a dance form
named after a village in the
Krishna district of Andhra
Pradesh.
• Kucipudī is non-narrative and
abstract dancing.
• Renowned gurus like Vedāntam
Lakṣmī Nārāyana, Cintā
Kṛśṇāmūrthy and Tadepalli
Perayya broadened the
horizons of this dance form.
• A Kucipudī recital is usually
concluded with taraṅgam,
where the performer dances on
a brass plate with a pot of
water on the head- sometimes
this is accompanied by two
burning lamps/candles in the
hands too
5. MANIPURI
• It is associated with rituals and
traditional festivals; there are
legendary references to the dances
of Śiva and Pārvatī and other gods
and goddesses who created the
universe.
• The dance was performed earlier by
maibas and maibīs (priests and
priestesses) who re-enact the theme
of the creation of the world.
• With the arrival of Vaiṣṇavism in the
15th century, new compositions
based on episodes from the life of
Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa were gradually
introduced.
• It was in the reign of King
Bhāgyacandra that the popular
Rāsalīlā dances of Manipur
originated.
 6.Odissi
• Oḍissī is believed to be the oldest form of Indian dance from the state of Odisha according to
the various sculptural evidences available.
• Archaeological evidences of this dance form dating back to the 2nd century BCE are found in
the caves of Udayagiri and Khandagiri near Bhubaneswar.
• The dance movements, frozen in stone, continue to inspire Oḍissī dancers even today.
• For centuries mahārisa or devadāsīs (temple dancers) were the chief repositories of this dance.

• Oḍissī mostly derives its

theme from the 12th
century Gīta Govinda by
Jayadeva.
• It is generally believed that
the composers fixed the
tāla and rāga of each
song after the model of
Gīta Govinda.
GOTIPUA – A FORM OF ODISSI
• Did you know that young
boys learning Oḍissī are called
goṭipuas and many of the
present-day gurus of this
dance form belong to the
goṭipua tradition?

• These boys called

goṭipuas were trained in
the art.
• They danced in the
temples and also for
general entertainment.
• Many of today’s gurus
of this style belong to
the gotipua tradition.
7.SATTRIYA
Sattriya, recently included among principal
classical Indian dance traditions, has been a
living tradition in Assam since its creation by the
founder of Vaiṣṇavism in Assam, the great saint
Śrimanta Śaṅkaradeva in 15thcentury Assam. This
dance form originated in monasteries and then
moved to the metropolitan stage.

• Śaṅkaradeva introduced this dance form by

integrating different elements from various
treatises and local folk dances with his own rare
outlook.
• Conventionally, this dance form was performed
only by bhokos (male monks) in monasteries as
part of their daily rituals or to mark special festivals.
• In the modern days, Sattriya is performed on stage
by women and men.
THANK YOU