🩰 Dance Notes for Half Yearly 🩰

Introduction of Indian Dance

According to hindu mythology Lord Brahma

created dance , he went into a state of deep
meditation. He called to mind the four Vedas.
Vedas are the earliest scriptures of the Hindus.
He distilled the essence from each of the Vedas.
From ‘Rigveda’, he derived the words, from
‘Sama Veda’, he derived the music, from
‘Yojurve Veda’, the code of gesture and from
‘Atherva Veda’, the element of sentiment or
flavor. He blended all of these ingredients and
added his own divine genious. Thus, he created
an entirely new activity. Brahma named this
activity ‘Natya’, which was later renamed
‘Natya Veda’.

In ancient India, there were no dedicated

auditorium halls or theaters, and dance was
usually a functional activity dedicated to
worship, entertainment or leisure. Dancers
usually performed in temples, on festive
occasions and seasonal harvests. Dance was
performed on a regular basis before deities as a
form of worship. Even in modern India, deities
are invoked through religious folk dance forms
from ancient times.

Lord Shiva in the dancing posture is referred as

the Nataraja, the King of Dance.

Lord Krishna is also one of the most significant

dancing divinities of the Hindus. His famous
Tandava on top of the evil, hundred-hooded
serpent, Kalinga, is a fierce and violent dance

The dances of Apsaras in the court of Indra

symbolise the delights and joys of heaven.
Introduction of Classical Dance

Indian classical dancing started around 200

BCE in India, as a joyful and celebratory
activity, often in devotion to Hindu deities.
Many of the performances are choreographed
to retell stories of the gods and other historical
accounts. All styles of Indian classical dance
are vibrant, expressive and spiritual.When
dancers perform classical Indian dancing they
wear traditional clothes including sarees,
lenghas, and kurtas. Usually, women are the
main performers in Indian classical dancing,
though men are not absent from the tradition.

Classical dances recognised by the Sangeet

Natak Akademi and the Ministry of Culture
● Bharatanatyam, from Tamil Nadu
● Kathak, from Uttar Pradesh
● Kathakali, from Kerala
● Kuchipudi, from Andhra Pradesh
● Manipuri, from Manipur
● Mohiniyattam, from Kerala
● Odissi, from Odisha
● Sattriya, from Assam
History & Development of Kathak

The term Kathak is derived from the Vedic Sanskrit word ‘Katha’ which means
"story", and Kathakar which means"the one who tells a story". Wandering
Kathakars or the traveling bards conveyed tales, inspired by our ancient epics
and mythologies, through dance, songs, and music.
Kathak performers exhibit stories through graceful hand movements,
extensive footwork, flexible body movements, and most importantly intense

facial expressions capable of evoking a range of emotions. Kathak evolved

during the Bhakti movement and incorporated stories revolving around the
Hindu deity Krishna and his childhood.

Gharanas of Kathak

There are three traditions of Kathak, the Banaras, Lucknow, and Jaipur
Gharanas inspired by the names of the cities in which they flourished. While
the Jaipur Gharana focuses more on foot movements, the Banaras and
Lucknow Gharanas focus more on facial expressions and graceful hand
movements.
The Lucknow Gharana of Kathak was founded by Ishwari Prasad, a devotee of
the Bhakti movement. Ishwari lived in the village of Handiya situated in
southeast Uttar Pradesh. It is believed that Lord Krishna came to his dreams
and instructed him to develop "dance as a form of worship"
Important terms
Laya :
Rhythm or tempo. Laya is a continuous movement in space of time. Music and
dance without Laya is like a body without bones.
There are mainly three kinds of Layas.

● Laya Vilambit : The slow tempo

● Laya Madhyam: The moderate or medium tempo
● Laya Drut : The fast tempo.
Chaugun: Fourth speed. Four beats into one beat or four time the speed of the
basic time cycle. For example: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8.
​
Dugun: Double speed. Two beats into one beat or double time the speed of the
basic time cycle. For example: 1 2 3 4.

Taal: Tal is a very important concept in Classical Indian dance and music. Tal is
a group of certain beats. Tal is a measurement of time which calculates the
number of beats utilized in certain time period. It is said that Bharat Muni
discovered the 32 kinds of Tal in a song of a lark

Taali:
Taali is also called Bhari. Taali means clapping. Besides "Sum", each taal has
beats where you clap. Example, in Teen Taal, you clap on the 1, 5 and 13th
matras.
Khali:
Khali is also called "Phank". The word khali means empty. Khali is the rest
point of a Tal. The Tabla player stops playing left Tabla on the syllables of
Khali. Khali is denoted by the sign "0".
Matra:
Beats. A taal is divided into Vibhags or parts. Each Vibhag has a set of beats
which are called 'Matras'. Matras are division in a time cycle. For example; the
constant interval between the seconds is Laya, the time which measures sixty
minutes is Tal, and the seconds are the beats or matras.
Nritya: Dance.
Aavartan:
A cycle of any taal is called an Aavartan or an Aavriti.Avartan' is a cycle which

means starting from beat 1 to beat 1 again and again.

Tihai: Concluding movements or a dance phrase repeated three times.

Tatkaar:
The dance syllables that are produced from footwork are called Tatkaar. In
Kathak dance the main syllables of Tatkaar are: Ta Thei Thei Tat, Aa Thei Thei
Tat. Kathak dancers usually perform many variations of Tatkaar such as Kadhi
Tatkaar, heal Tatkaar, Vazan Tatkaar etc.

Chakradar Tihai

A chakradar tihai is a structure which has a tihai within a tihai. In other words, a
tihai which is played 3 times.