Bharatanatyam

Overview

Bharatanatyam is an Indian classical dance form that originates from Tamil Nadu. Recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi as a classical dance, it expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly those associated with Shaivism and Hinduism more broadly.

Precursors of Bharatanatyam are described in the Natya Shastra, dated around 500 BCE–500 CE, and references appear in the ancient Tamil epic Silappatikaram, dated around 171 CE. Temple sculptures from the 6th to 9th century CE suggest that dance had developed into a refined performance art by the mid-1st millennium CE. The tradition, formerly known as Sadiraattam, was renamed Bharatanatyam in 1932 and is regarded as the oldest classical dance tradition in India.

Bharatanatyam is taught and performed in different bani, a term meaning "tradition" that describes the technique and style associated with a particular guru or school, often named after the village of the guru. The style is distinguished by a fixed upper torso, bent legs and flexed knees (Aramandi), intricate footwork, and a vocabulary of sign language conveyed through gestures of the hands, eyes and facial muscles. Performances are accompanied by music and a singer, with the dancer's guru typically present as the nattuvanar, or director-conductor, of the performance.

The performance repertoire, like that of other Indian classical dances, comprises nrita (pure dance), nritya (which conveys meaning to the audience through hand gestures) and natya (which incorporates elements of drama). A typical Bharatanatyam programme lasts about two hours without interruption and follows a specific sequence, performed by a single dancer who neither leaves the stage nor changes costume. The accompanying orchestra—composed of drums, drone and singer—is positioned at the back of the stage and is led by the dancer's guru.

Sadiraattam remained largely exclusive to Tamil Hindu temples through the 19th century. The colonial British government imposed a ban on the form in

References

• English Wikipedia page for Bharatanatyam