Ashlin cardozo 1103 SYB.B.

A (T&T)

Anish kumar 1110

Introduction Mohiniattam is a personification of feminine charm. It is a highly communicative Indian Classical Dance, which was originated in the palm fringed land of 'Kerala' known for its exotic natural charm, dynamic backwaters, and the spectacular landscape. This unique form of dance is vastly influenced by the scintillating natural beauty -the dancing and swinging of the trees and flowing waters of the coastal area. The word Mohiniattam is derived from two words - "Mohini" (meaning beautiful women) and "attam"(meaning dance). history Mohiniattam has been handed down through the centuries by temple dancers of south India called devadasis. The dance acquired new identity in the 19th century during the reign of Maharaja Swati Tirunal -ruler of Travancore (Southern Kerala). Great Malayalam poet Vallathol, also played an important part in reviving the position of this dance. He established Kerala Kalamandalam dance school in 1930. Some of the other prominent personalities who are associated with this legendary dance are - Guru Krishna Panicker, Kalyani Kuttiamma, Chinnammu Amma and many more. It is traditionally a female solo dance. Mohiniattam dancers usually wears off white colored sari with gold brocade borders. They are beautifully adorned with the gold jewelery, necklaces, bangles, waistbands and anklets. The dancers portray the themes of love and devotion through her delicate footsteps and subtle facial expressions. This dance is mainly dedicated to Lord Vishnu or Krishna. The basic steps used in the dance are known as Adavus namely Taganam, Jaganam, Dhaganam and Sammisram. It is somewhat quite similar to south Indian dance of Bharatanatyam. The lyrics used in the dance is the combination of Sanskrit and Malayalam. The dance involves the swaying of hips and soft movements of orthostatic posture from side to side. There are approximately 40 different movements, known as 'atavukal', in Mohiniattam. The sensuous style of dance also involves the use of eye movement that are quite elicit in its own manner. The theme behind the dance is to entertain and enchant the viewers without being offensive.

way to perform mohiniattam Nritha Mandalam-s (stances), Pada bheda-s (foot variations), Padachari-s(gaits) and Nritha hasta-s(gestures) are the main parts of the pure dance patterns. Beautiful combinations of all these above mentioned are called Atavu-s. There are about 55 to 60 Atavu-s in the training pattern followed at Natanakaisiki belonging to the two major styles of Kerala, the Kalamandalam style and Guru Kalyanikuttyammas style. Mandalams Basic posture of the feet is considered as one of the most important aspects of many of the dance forms.In Mohiniyattam the basic posture is known as Aramandalam. In Thiruvathirakali (a groupe dance form of Kerala women which is very closely related to Mohiniyattam)this is known as vattakkalil thanu nilkuka (means bend your leg and stand.). Most of the Atavus the basic dance units begin from this basic position. five such stances in Mohiniyattam.These are the Sama mandalam,Aramandalam ,Muzhumandalam,Mukkalmandalam and Kaalmandalam. Standing erect without bending the knees is called Samamandalam. The knees should be bent and spread apart to form the shape of a pot.This is known as Aramandalam.(Vattakkal). The feet for Aramandalam should be set flat on the floor about two and a half inches apart , the right foot turned to the right corner and the left foot , to the left. The distance between the toes being about twelve inches. The third one is called Muzhumandalam.In this the knees should bent and spread apart,the toes alone would touch the ground and the danseuse should sit on her heels,producing a squatting stance. When the knees are positioned between Muzhumandalam and Aramandalam it it is called Mukkalmandalam. (the word mukkal means three forth ). When the knees are positioned in between Aramandalam and Samamandalam it is called as Kaalmandalam.(the word Kal in Malayalam means one fourth). Chari-s (gaits) In Mohiniyattam there are five different usages of Pada chari-s. They are Hamsa (swan)Padam, Kukkuda(hen)Padam, Mayoora (peacock)Padam, Mandooka (frog)Padam, and Naga (snake)bandham. Atavus Atavus are the basic units ,which are sub-divisions of the pure dance in Mohiniyattam.These are created combining hand gestures, body movements, mandalam-s, footwork, and Chari-s. When Mohiniyattam is taught, to ensure that the pupile develops graceful body control, it is these Atavu-s, that are practisied in the first few years of training. Atavus have been grouped into Taganam, Jaganam, Dhaganam and Sammisram.The grouping has been done acccording to the Vaythari-s(syllables) used.