Theoretical base of this form traces back to ‘ Natya Shastra ’, the ancient Sanskrit Hindu text on the performing arts . A form of illustrative anecdote of Hindu religious themes and spiritual ideas emoted by dancer with excellent footwork and impressive gestures its performance repertoire includes he stages as Nritham , Nrithyam and Natyam . Bharatanatyam is based on the theories of the books ‘ Natyasaasthram ’ and ‘ Abhinaya Darpanam ’. The dance form is based on ‘ Adavu ’ ( steps ) and ‘ Hasthamudra ’ ( hand gestures ). There are 64 basic ‘ Adavu ’ and they are divided into 9 parts , on which ‘ Thattadavu ’, ‘ Naatadavu ’, ‘ Kuthithumettadavu ’, ‘ Mandiadavu ’, ‘ Sarikkal ’ and ‘ Thattumettu ’ are very important . Communication is done through ‘ bhavabhinaya ’ ( facial expression ) and ‘ hasthamudra ’ ( hand gestures ). The performance starts with the prayers to God Ganapathi and worship of Nataraja Moorthi .
The sequence of the dance performance is ‘ Alarippu ’, ‘ Jathiswaram ’, ‘ Sabdam ’, ‘ Varnam ’, ‘ Padam ’ and ‘ Thillana ’. After ‘ Thillana ’, with a ‘ Mangala Slokam ’ the dance program ends . Normally the performance lasts for two to two and half hours .
Accompanists include a singer , music and particularly the guru who directs and conducts the performance . It also continues to inspire several art forms including paintings and sculptures starting from the spectacular 6th to 9th century CE temple sculptures .
History & Evolution
According to the Hindu tradition the name of the dance form was derived by joining two words , ‘ Bharata ’ and Natyam ’ where ‘ Natyam in Sanskrit means dance and ‘ Bharata ’ is a mnemonic comprising ‘ bha ’, ‘ ra ’ and ‘ ta ’ which respectively means ‘ bhava ’ that is emotion and feelings ; ‘ raga ’ that is melody ; and ‘ tala ’ that is rhythm . Thus , traditionally the word refers to a dance form where bhava , raga and tala are expressed . The theoretical base of this dance form , which is also referred as Sadir , trace back to ancient Indian theatrologist and musicologist , Bharata Muni ’ s Sanskrit Hindu text on the performing arts called ‘ Natya Shastra ’. The text ’ s first complete version was presumably completed between 200 BCE to 200 CE , however such timeframe also varies between 500 BCE and 500 CE . According to legends Lord Brahma revealed Bharatanatyam to the sage Bharata who then encoded this holy dance form in Natya Shastra . The text that consists of thousands of verses structured in different chapters divides dance in two specific forms , namely ‘ nrita ’ that is pure dance comprising of finesse of hand movements and gestures , and ‘ nritya ’ that is solo expressive dance that comprises of expressions . According to Russian scholar Natalia Lidova , ‘ Natya Shastra ’ elucidates several theories of Indian classical dances including that of Tandava dance , standing postures , basic steps , bhava , rasa , methods of acting and gestures .
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