SUBMITTED TO:

MS. PANCY

SUBMITTED BY:
SHIVAM GUPTA
(MBA SEM-2)

TOPIC: CLASSICAL DANCES OF INDIA

SUBJECT:TOURISM RESOURCES OF INDIA

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 Types Of Classical Dances

 Introduction:
'Indian classical Dance' or 'Shastriya Devesh', is an umbrella term for Various performance arts rooted in
religious Hindu musical theatre styles, whose theory and practice can be traced to the Sanskrit text Natya
Shastra.
The number of recognised classical dances range from eight to more, depending on the source and
scholar. The Sangeet Natak Academy recognizes eight –
1. Bharatanatyam
2. Kathak
3. Kuchipudi
4. Odissi
5. Kathakali
6. Sattriya
7. Manipuri
8. Mohiniyattam.
 Scholars such as Drid Williams add Chhau, Yakshagana and Bhagavata Mela to the list. Additionally, the
Indian Ministry of Culture includes Chhau in its classical list. These dances are traditionally regional, all of
them include music and recitation in local language or Sanskrit, and they represent a unity of core ideas in a
diversity of styles, costumes and expression.
All major classical Indian dance forms include in repertoire, three categories of performance in the Natya
Shastra. These are Nritta, Nritya and Natya:

1. The Nritta performance is an abstract, fast and rhythmic aspect of the dance. The viewer is presented
with pure movement, wherein the emphasis is the beauty in motion, form, speed, range and pattern.
[36]
 This part of the repertoire has no interpretative aspect, no telling of the story. It is a technical
performance, and aims to engage the senses (Prakriti) of the audience.
2. The Nritya is slower and expressive aspect of the dance that attempts to communicate feelings, storyline
particularly with spiritual themes in Hindu dance traditions. In a Nritya, the dance-acting expands to
include silent expression of words through gestures and body motion set to musical notes. The actor
articulates a legend or a spiritual message. This part of the repertoire is more than sensory enjoyment, it
aims to engage the emotions and mind of the viewer.
3. The Natyam is a play, typically a team performance, but can be acted out by a solo performer where the
dancer uses certain standardized body movements to indicate a new character in the underlying story.
A Natya incorporates the elements of a Nritya.

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 History:
The Natya Shastra is the foundational treatise for classical dances of India, and this text is attributed to
the ancient scholar Bharata Muni. Its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and
200 CE, but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE. The most studied version of the Natya
Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters. The text, states Natalia Lidova,
describes the theory of Tāṇḍava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, of bhāva, expression, gestures, acting
techniques, basic steps, standing postures – all of which are part of Indian classical dances. Dance and
performance arts, states this ancient text, are a form of expression of spiritual ideas, virtues and the
essence of scriptures.
While the Natya Shastra is the revered ancient text in the Hindu tradition, there are numerous other
ancient and medieval Sanskrit dance-drama related texts that further discuss and expand on the classical
repertoire of performance arts, such as the Abhinaya Darpana, Abhinava Bharati, Natya
Darpana, Bhava Prakasa and many others. The term "classical" (Sanskrit: "Shastriya") denotes the
ancient Indian Shastra-based performing arts.
The text Natya Shastra describes religious arts as a form as margi, or a "spiritual traditional path" that
liberates the soul, while the folk entertainment is called desi, or a "regional popular practice".
Indian classical dances are traditionally performed as an expressive drama-dance form of religious
performance art, related to Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, pan-Hindu Epics and the Vedic literature,
or a folksy entertainment that includes story-telling from Sanskrit or regional language plays. As a
religious art, they are either performed inside the sanctum of a Hindu temple, or near it. Folksy
entertainment may also be performed in temple grounds or any fairground, typically in a rural setting by
travelling troupes of artists; alternatively, they have been performed inside the halls of royal courts or
public squares during festivals.

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 Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in the state of Tamil
Nadu hundreds of years ago. It is one of eight forms of dance recognized by the Sangeet Natak
Akademi (the others being Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Manipuri and Sattriya)
and it expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly
of Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism.
Description of Bharatanatyam by 2nd century CE is noted in the ancient Tamil epic Silappatikaram,
while temple sculptures of 6th to 9th century CE suggest it was a well refined performance art by the
mid 1st millennium CE. Bharatanatyam is the oldest classical dance tradition of India. Theoretical
foundations of the Indian classical dance laid out in Natya Shastra. can be traced to various ancient art
forms including Bharatanatyam.
Bharatanatyam style is noted for its fixed upper torso, bent legs and knees flexed ( Aramandi ) combined
with spectacular footwork, and a sophisticated vocabulary of sign language based on gestures of hands,
eyes and face muscles. The dance is accompanied by music and a singer, and typically her guru is
present as the Nattuvanar, director and conductor of the performance and art. The dance has traditionally
been a form of an interpretive narration of mythical legends and spiritual ideas from the Hindu
texts. The performance repertoire of Bharatanatyam, like other classical dances, includes nrita (pure
dance), nritya (solo expressive dance) and natya (group dramatic dance).

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 Kathak
Kathak is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. The origin of Kathak is traditionally
attributed to the traveling bards of ancient northern India known as Kathakars or storytellers. The term
Kathak is derived from the Vedic Sanskrit word Katha which means "story", and Kathakar which means
"the one who tells a story", or "to do with stories". Wandering Kathakars communicated stories from the
great epics and ancient mythology through dance, songs and music in a manner similar to early Greek
theatre. Kathak dancers tell various stories through their hand movements and extensive footwork, but
most importantly through their facial expressions. Kathak evolved during the Bhakti movement,
particularly by incorporating the childhood and stories of the Hindu god Krishna, as well as
independently in the courts of north Indian kingdoms.
Kathak is found in three distinct forms, called "gharanas", named after the cities where the Kathak dance
tradition evolved – Jaipur, Banaras and Lucknow. While the Jaipur gharana focuses more on the foot
movements, the Banaras and Lucknow gharanas focus more on facial expressions and graceful hand
movements. Stylistically, the Kathak dance form emphasizes rhythmic foot movements, adorned with
small bells (Ghungroo), and the movement harmonized to the music. The legs and torso are generally
straight, and the story is told through a developed vocabulary based on the gestures of arms and upper
body movement, facial expressions, stage movements, bends and turns. The main focus of the dance
becomes the eyes and the foot movements. The eyes work as a medium of communication of the story
the dancer is trying to communicate. With the eyebrows the dancer gives various facial expressions. The
difference between the sub-traditions is the relative emphasis between acting versus footwork, with
Lucknow style emphasizing acting and Jaipur style famed for its spectacular footwork.
Kathak as a performance art has survived and thrived as an oral tradition, innovated and taught and from
one generation to another verbally and through practice. It transitioned, adapted and integrated the tastes
of the Mughal courts in the 16th and 17th century particularly Akbar, was ridiculed and declined in the
colonial British era, then was reborn as India gained independence and sought to rediscover its ancient
roots and a sense of national identity through the arts.

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 Kathakali
Kathakali is a major form of classical Indian dance. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one
distinguished by the elaborately colorful make-up, costumes and face masks that the traditionally male
actor-dancers wear.  Kathakali is a Hindu performance art in the Malayalam-speaking southwestern
region of India (Kerala).
Kathakalī's roots are unclear. The fully developed style of Kathakalī originated around the 17th century,
but its roots are in the temple and folk arts (such as Kutiyattam and religious drama of the southwestern
Indian peninsula), which are traceable to at least the 1st millennium CE. A Kathakali performance, like
all classical dance arts of India, synthesizes music, vocal performers, choreography and hand and facial
gestures together to express ideas. However, Kathakali differs in that it also incorporates movements
from ancient Indian martial arts and athletic traditions of South India. Kathakalī also differs in that the
structure and details of its art form developed in the courts and theatres of Hindu principalities, unlike
other classical Indian dances which primarily developed in Hindu temples and monastic schools.
The traditional themes of the Kathakalī are folk mythologies, religious legends and spiritual ideas from
Hindu epics and the Puranas. The vocal performance has traditionally been performed in Sanskritised
Malayalam. In modern compositions, Indian Kathakali troupes have included women artists, as well as
adapted Western stories and plays such as those by Shakespeare.

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 Odissi
Odissi is a classical dance that originated in Odisha, India Odissi (Odia: Oṛiśī), also referred to
as Orissi in older literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu
temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. Odissi, in its history, was performed predominantly
by women, and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas, particularly of Vaishnavism (Vishnu
as Jagannath). Odissi performances have also expressed ideas of other traditions such as those related to
Hindu gods Shiva and Surya, as well as Hindu goddesses (Shaktism).

The foundations of Odissi are found in Natya Shastra, the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of performance
arts. The basic dance units described in Natyashastra, all 108 of them, are identical to those in Odissi.
Natya Shastra is attributed to the ancient scholar Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is
dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE. The most
studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters. The
text, states Natalia Lidova, describes the theory of Tāṇḍava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, of bhāva,
expression, gestures, acting techniques, basic steps, standing postures – all of which are part of Indian
classical dances. Dance and performance arts, states this ancient text, are a form of expression of
spiritual ideas, virtues and the essence of scriptures. The Natya Shastra refers to four vrittis (methods of
expressive delivery) in vogue – Avanti, Dakshinatya, Panchali and Odra-Magadhi; of these,
the Odra refers to Odisha.
More direct historical evidence of dance and music as an ancient performance art are found in
archaeological sites such as caves and in temple carvings of Bhubaneswar, Konarak and Puri. The
Manchapuri cave in Udayagiri shows carvings of dance and musicians, and this has been dated to the
time of Jain king Kharavela in the first or second century BCE. The Hathigumpha inscriptions, also
dated to the same ruler, mention music and dance:
(he [the king]) versed in the science of the Gandharvas (i.e., music), entertains the capital with the
exhibition of dapa, dancing, singing and instrumental music and by causing to be held festivities and
assemblies (samajas)...
— Hathigumpha inscription, Line 5, ~ 2nd-1st century BCE

The musical tradition of Odisha also has ancient roots. Archeologists have reported the discovery of 20-
key, carefully shaped polished basalt lithophone in Sankarjang, the highlands of Odisha, which is dated
to about 1000 BCE.

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 Kuchipudi
Kuchipudi  is one of the eleven major Indian classical dances. It originated in a village
named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of Natya
Shastra. It developed as a religious art linked to traveling bards, temples and spiritual beliefs, like all
major classical dances of India. Evidence of Kuchipudi's existence in an older version are found in
copper inscriptions of the 10th century, and by the 15th century in texts such as the Machupalli
Kaifat. Kuchipudi tradition holds that Tirtha Narayana Yati – a sanyassin of Advaita
Vedanta persuasion, and his disciple, an orphan named Siddhendra Yogi, founded and systematized the
modern version of Kuchipudi in the 17th century. Kuchipudi largely developed as a Hindu god Krishna-
oriented Vaishnavism tradition, and it is most closely related to Bhagavata Mela performance art found
in Tamil Nadu.
The traditional Kuchipudi was performed by all males troupe. A dancer in a male role would be
in Angivastra, also known as Bagalbandi, wear a dhoti (a single pleated piece of cloth hanging down
from the waist). A dancer in a female role would wear a Sari with light makeup.
The Kuchipudi performance usually begins with an invocation. Then, each costumed actor is introduced,
their role stated, and they then perform a short preliminary dance set to music (dharavu). Next, the
performance presents pure dance (nritta). This is followed with by the expressive part of the
performance (nritya), where rhythmic hand gestures help convey the story. Vocal and
instrumental Carnatic music in the Telugu language accompanies the performance. The typical musical
instruments in Kuchipudi are mridangam, cymbals, veena, flute and the tambura.
The popularity of Kuchipudi has grown within India, and it is performed worldwide.

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 Manipuri Dance
Manipuri dance, also known as Jagoi, is one of the major Indian classical dance forms, named after the
region of its origin – Manipur, a state in northeastern India bordering
with Myanmar (Burma), Assam, Nagaland and Mizoram. It is particularly known for its
Hindu Vaishnavism themes, and exquisite performances of love-inspired dance drama of Radha-Krishna
called Raslila. However, the dance is also performed to themes related to Shaivism, Shaktism and
regional deities such as Umang Lai during Lai Haraoba.
The roots of Manipuri dance, as with all classical Indian dances, is the ancient Hindu Sanskrit
text Natya Shastra, with influences and the culture fusion between various local folk dance
forms. According to the traditional legend, the indigenous people of the Manipur valley were the dance-
experts revered as Gandharvas in the Hindu epics (Ramayana and Mahabharata), suggesting a dance
tradition has existed in Manipur since antiquity. With evidence of Vishnu temples in the medieval era,
the dance arts have been passed down verbally from generation to generation as an oral tradition. The
first reliably dated written texts describing the art of Manipuri dance are from the early 18th-century.
Manipuri dance is a team performance, with its own unique costumes, aesthetics, conventions and
repertoire. The Manipuri dance drama is, for most part, marked by a performance that is graceful, fluid,
sinuous with greater emphasis on hand and upper body gestures. It is accompanied with devotional
music created with many instruments, with the beat set by cymbals (kartal or manjira) and double-
headed drum (pung or Manipuri mrdanga) of sankirtan.
Manipuri dance is a religious art and its aim is the expression of spiritual values. Aspects of this
performance art is celebrated during Hindu festivals and major rites of passage such as weddings among
the Manipuri people, particularly in the ethnic majority of Meitei people. The dance drama
choreography shares the plays and stories of 'Vaishnavite Padavalis', that also inspired the major
Gaudiya Vaishnava-related performance arts found in Assam and West Bengal.

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 Mohiniyattam
Mohiniyattam, (Malayalam: മോഹിനിയാട്ടം), is one of the eight classical dances of India that developed
and remained popular in the state of Kerala. Kathakali is another classical dance form of
Kerala. Mohiniyattam dance gets its name from the word Mohini – a mythical enchantress avatar of the
Hindu god Vishnu, who helps the good prevail over evil by developing her feminine powers.
Mohiniyattam's roots, like all classical Indian dances, are in the Natya Shastra – the ancient Hindu
Sanskrit text on performance arts. However, it follows the Lasya style described in Natya Shastra, that is
a dance which is delicate, eros-filled and feminine. It is traditionally a solo dance performed by women
after extensive training. The repertoire of Mohiniyattam includes music in the Carnatic style, singing
and acting a play through the dance, where the recitation may be either by a separate vocalist or the
dancer herself. The song is typically in Malayalam-Sanskrit hybrid called Manipravalam.
The earliest mention of the word is found in the 16th-century legal text Vyavaharamala, but the likely
roots of the dance are older. The dance was systematized in the 18th century, was ridiculed as a
Devadasi prostitution system during the colonial British Raj, banned by a series of laws from 1931
through 1938, a ban that was protested and partially repealed in 1940. The socio-political conflict
ultimately led to renewed interest, revival and reconstruction of Mohiniyattam by the people of Kerala,
particularly the poet Vallathol Narayana Menon.

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 Sattriya

Sattriya (Assamese: সত্ৰীয়া), or Sattriya Nritya, is originated in the eastern state of Assam. It is a dance-

drama performance art with origins in the Krishna-centered Vaishnavism monasteries of Assam, and
attributed to the 15th century Bhakti movement scholar and saint Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev.
One-act plays of Sattriya are called Ankiya Nat, which combine the aesthetic and the religious through a
ballad, dance and drama. The plays are usually performed in the dance community halls (namghar) of
monastery temples (sattras). The themes played relate to Krishna and Radha, sometimes other
Vishnu avatars such as Rama and Sita.
Recognized in 2000 as a classical dance by Sangeet Natak Akademi of India, modern Sattriya explores
many themes and plays, and its performances staged worldwide.

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