The Rhythms of India Nritya
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Odissi Dance
ORISSA REFERENCE ANNUAL - 2005 ODISSI DANCE Photo Courtesy : Introduction : KNM Foundation, BBSR Odissi dance got its recognition as a classical dance, after Bharat Natyam, Kathak & Kathakali in the year 1958, although it had a glorious past. The temple like Konark have kept alive this ancient forms of dance in the stone-carved damsels with their unique lusture, posture and gesture. In the temple of Lord Jagannath it is the devadasis, who were performing this dance regularly before Lord Jagannath, the Lord of the Universe. After the introduction of the Gita Govinda, the love theme of Lordess Radha and Lord Krishna, the devadasis performed abhinaya with different Bhavas & Rasas. The Gotipua system of dance was performed by young boys dressed as girls. During the period of Ray Ramananda, the Governor of Raj Mahendri the Gotipua style was kept alive and attained popularity. The different items of the Odissi dance style are Mangalacharan, Batu Nrutya or Sthayi Nrutya, Pallavi, Abhinaya & Mokhya. Starting from Mangalacharan, it ends in Mokhya. The songs are based upon the writings of poets who adored Lordess Radha and Krishna, as their ISTHADEVA & DEVIS, above all KRUSHNA LILA or ŎRASALILAŏ are Banamali, Upendra Bhanja, Kabi Surya Baladev Rath, Gopal Krishna, Jayadev & Vidagdha Kavi Abhimanyu Samant Singhar. ODISSI DANCE RECOGNISED AS ONE OF THE CLASSICAL DANCE FORM Press Comments :±08-04-58 STATESMAN őIt was fit occasion for Mrs. Indrani Rehman to dance on the very day on which the Sangeet Natak Akademy officially recognised Orissi dancing -
Bharatanatyam: Eroticism, Devotion, and a Return to Tradition
BHARATANATYAM: EROTICISM, DEVOTION, AND A RETURN TO TRADITION A THESIS Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Religion In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Bachelor of Arts By Taylor Steine May/2016 Page 1! of 34! Abstract The classical Indian dance style of Bharatanatyam evolved out of the sadir dance of the devadāsīs. Through the colonial period, the dance style underwent major changes and continues to evolve today. This paper aims to examine the elements of eroticism and devotion within both the sadir dance style and the contemporary Bharatanatyam. The erotic is viewed as a religious path to devotion and salvation in the Hindu religion and I will analyze why this eroticism is seen as religious and what makes it so vital to understanding and connecting with the divine, especially through the embodied practices of religious dance. Introduction Bharatanatyam is an Indian dance style that evolved from the sadir dance of devadāsīs. Sadir has been popular since roughly the 6th century. The original sadir dance form most likely originated in the area of Tamil Nadu in southern India and was used in part for temple rituals. Because of this connection to the ancient sadir dance, Bharatanatyam has historic traditional value. It began as a dance style performed in temples as ritual devotion to the gods. This original form of the style performed by the devadāsīs was inherently religious, as devadāsīs were women employed by the temple specifically to perform religious texts for the deities and for devotees. Because some sadir pieces were dances based on poems about kings and not deities, secularism does have a place in the dance form. -
Classical Dances Have Drawn Sustenance
Performing Art 1 Classic Dances 4 Bharatnatyam Dance 8 Kathakali Dance 12 Kathak Dance 18 Manipuri 21 Lai Haraoba 22 Radha and Krishna 23 Pung Cholam 23 Kartal Cholam 23 Thang-Ta 24 Musicians 24 Odissi 25 Kuchipudi 30 Sattriya 34 Performing Art In India, various facets of performing arts are all pervading bringing colour and joy to numerous festivals and ceremonies, and reaffirming the faith of the people in their heritage. These facets have been responsible for sustaining the long continuities of ancient traditions. They are the link between the past and the present. It thus exemplifies the complex, organic interaction of all aspects of life implicit in all tribal and folk art forms; art is not seen as something apart from life, a mere ornamentation or entertainment, but as an intrinsic part of it. Page !1 of !36 Pre-historic Cave painting, Bhimbetka, Madhya Pradesh Under the patronage of Kings and rulers, skilled artisans and entertainers were encouraged to specialize and to refine their skills to greater levels of perfection and sophistication. Gradually, the classical forms of Art evolved for the glory of temple and palace, reaching their zenith around India around 2nd C.E. onwards and under the powerful Gupta empire, when canons of perfection were laid down in detailed treatise - the Natyashastra and the Kamasutra - which are still followed to this day. Through the ages, rival kings and nawabs vied with each other to attract the most renowned artists and performers to their courts. While the classical arts thus became distinct from their folk roots, they were never totally alienated from them, even today there continues a mutually enriching dialogue between tribal and folk forms on the one hand, and classical art on the other; the latter continues to be invigorated by fresh folk forms, while providing them with new thematic content in return. -
A History of Legal and Moral Regulation of Temple Dance in India
Naveiñ Reet: Nordic Journal of Law and Social Research (NNJLSR) No.6 2015, pp. 131-148 Dancing Through Laws: A History of Legal and Moral Regulation of Temple Dance in India Stine Simonsen Puri Introduction In 1947, in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India, an Act was passed, “The Tamil Nadu Devadasis (Prevention of Dedication) Act,” which among other things banned the dancing of women in front of Hindu temples. The Act was to target prostitution among the so-called devadasis that were working as performers within and beyond Hindu temples, and who, according to custom also were ritually married or dedicated to temple gods. The Act was the culmination of decades of public and legal debates centred on devadasis, who had come to symbolize what was considered a degenerated position of women within Hindu society. Concurrent with this debate, the dance of the devadasis which had developed through centuries was revived and reconfigured among the Indian upper class; and eventually declared one of Indian national dances, called bharatanatyam (which can translate as Indian dance). Today, while parts of the devadasi tradition have been banned, bharatanatyam is a popular activity for young girls and women among the urban middle and upper classes in all parts of India. The aim of this article is to examine moral boundaries tied to the female moving body in India. I do so by looking into the ways in which the regulation of a certain kind of dancers has framed the moral boundaries for contemporary young bharatanatyam dancers. A focus on legal and moral interventions in dance highlights the contested role of the female body in terms of gender roles, religious ideology, and moral economy. -
The Role of Indian Dances on Indian Culture
www.ijemr.net ISSN (ONLINE): 2250-0758, ISSN (PRINT): 2394-6962 Volume-7, Issue-2, March-April 2017 International Journal of Engineering and Management Research Page Number: 550-559 The Role of Indian Dances on Indian Culture Lavanya Rayapureddy1, Ramesh Rayapureddy2 1MBA, I year, Mallareddy Engineering College for WomenMaisammaguda, Dhulapally, Secunderabad, INDIA 2Civil Contractor, Shapoor Nagar, Hyderabad, INDIA ABSTRACT singers in arias. The dancer's gestures mirror the attitudes of Dances in traditional Indian culture permeated all life throughout the visible universe and the human soul. facets of life, but its outstanding function was to give symbolic expression to abstract religious ideas. The close relationship Keywords--Dance, Classical Dance, Indian Culture, between dance and religion began very early in Hindu Wisdom of Vedas, etc. thought, and numerous references to dance include descriptions of its performance in both secular and religious contexts. This combination of religious and secular art is reflected in the field of temple sculpture, where the strictly I. OVERVIEW OF INDIAN CULTURE iconographic representation of deities often appears side-by- AND IMPACT OF DANCES ON INDIAN side with the depiction of secular themes. Dancing, as CULTURE understood in India, is not a mere spectacle or entertainment, but a representation, by means of gestures, of stories of gods and heroes—thus displaying a theme, not the dancer. According to Hindu Mythology, dance is believed Classical dance and theater constituted the exoteric to be a creation of Brahma. It is said that Lord Brahma worldwide counterpart of the esoteric wisdom of the Vedas. inspired the sage Bharat Muni to write the Natyashastra – a The tradition of dance uses the technique of Sanskrit treatise on performing arts. -
Final Senior Fellowship Report
FINAL SENIOR FELLOWSHIP REPORT NAME OF THE FIELD: DANCE AND DANCE MUSIC SUB FIELD: MANIPURI FILE NO : CCRT/SF – 3/106/2015 A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TWO VAISHNAVISM INFLUENCED CLASSICAL DANCE FORM, SATRIYA AND MANIPURI, FROM THE NORTH EAST INDIA NAME : REKHA TALUKDAR KALITA VILL – SARPARA. PO – SARPARA. PS- PALASBARI (MIRZA) DIST – KAMRUP (ASSAM) PIN NO _ 781122 MOBILE NO – 9854491051 0 HISTORY OF SATRIYA AND MANIPURI DANCE Satrya Dance: To know the history of Satriya dance firstly we have to mention that it is a unique and completely self creation of the great Guru Mahapurusha Shri Shankardeva. Shri Shankardeva was a polymath, a saint, scholar, great poet, play Wright, social-religious reformer and a figure of importance in cultural and religious history of Assam and India. In the 15th and 16th century, the founder of Nava Vaishnavism Mahapurusha Shri Shankardeva created the beautiful dance form which is used in the act called the Ankiya Bhaona. 1 Today it is recognised as a prime Indian classical dance like the Bharatnatyam, Odishi, and Kathak etc. According to the Natya Shastra, and Abhinaya Darpan it is found that before Shankardeva's time i.e. in the 2nd century BC. Some traditional dances were performed in ancient Assam. Again in the Kalika Purana, which was written in the 11th century, we found that in that time also there were uses of songs, musical instruments and dance along with Mudras of 108 types. Those Mudras are used in the Ojha Pali dance and Satriya dance later as the “Nritya“ and “Nritya hasta”. Besides, we found proof that in the temples of ancient Assam, there were use of “Nati” and “Devadashi Nritya” to please God. -
Paper on Expression of Advaita Vedanta Through Classical Music
Paper on Expression of Advaita Vedanta through Classical Music Advaitic kritis composed by Swami Dayānanda Saraswati (1930 - 2015) of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam -By Sonali Ambasankar Rarely will there be any person who has not heard of the kriti Bho Śambho Śiva Śambho Svayambho. Composed and written by Pujya Swami Dayānanda Saraswati (1930 - 2015), who established the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, it is an immensely melodious and a much popular composition on Lord Śiva. So much is the popularity, that the song is sung by many a singer without even knowing the composer and the writer of these wonderful lyrics. It probably reflects the greatness of Swami Dayānanda ji as a teacher, where he wants the teaching to be remembered over the teacher, the song to be remembered over the composer. Swamiji composed many such Sanskrit kritis, in praise of different devatas. 19 kritis to be precise to be sung upon Gaṇapati, Someśvara, Śāradādevi, Mi̇̄nākśi, Ṣaṇmukham, Rāma, Govinda, Dakshināmurty, ĀdiŚankara and even on our dearest Bhāratavarsha. The last of his compositions was on Devi Jñāneśwari, in praise of the Veda, our Śruti māta. Across all his kritis, Swamiji has beautifully woven together Saguna and Nirguna Brahman. At first glance, these might appear as simple compositions like many others, sung as praises on different deities. But taking a closer look reveals a lot more. In the Bhagavad Gitā, Chapter 7, verse 16, Bhagavān Krṣṇā talks about the 4 bhaktas - ārta, arthārthi, jijñāsu and the jnāni. Each type of bhakta is seeking or connecting with Bhagavān through his own understanding of Bhagavān. ĀdiŚankara in his bhāsya on the Gitā says चतुवधाः चतुःकाराः भजते सेवंते मां जनाः सुकृतनः पुयकमाणः हे अजुन । आतः आतपरगृहतः तकरयारोगादना अभभूतः आपनः, िजासुः भगववं ातुमछत यः, अथाथ धनकामः, ानी वणोः तववच हे भरतषभ ॥ ७.१६ ॥ Swami Dayānandaji's compositions connect with each of these 4 types of bhaktas to his personal understanding of Bhagavān. -
Tradition and the Individual Dancer
1: Tradition and the Individual Dancer History and Innovation in a Classical Form Critical accounts and promotional materials frequently refer to bharata natyam as “ancient.” The dance form’s status as traditional and classical seems to render it fixed, even timeless. A connection to the past appears to be a given for this dance practice. Even on closer examination, a relationship to the past seems integral to the dance form’s identity, its content, and its structure. Present-day bharata natyam choreography draws from the dance practices of earlier decades and centuries. Its movement vocabulary derives from sadir, the solo dance per- formed by temple and court dancers in precolonial and colonial South India. The margam—the concert order that determines when in a program each dance piece appears—was standardized in the nineteenth century by the renowned musician- composers of the Thanjavur Quartet. The roots of bharata natyam extend still further back. For example, the mudras, or hand gestures, used today accord in both shape and meaning with those described in the Natyasastra, a Sanskrit dra- maturgical text, dating from the beginning of the Christian era. Similarly, an arangetram, or initial performance, described in the fifth-century Tamil epic Silappadikaram correlates with that of devadasi practitioners of the nineteenth century, which then established the protocol for twentieth-century debuts. Bharata natyam’s repertoire consists largely of songs written between the sev- enteenth and twentieth centuries. The poems of love and religious devotion that form the basis of the bharata natyam canon emerged from the musical and lit- erary traditions of previous centuries. -
Bridging the Gap: Exploring Indian Classical Dances As a Source of Dance/Movement Therapy, a Literature Review
Lesley University DigitalCommons@Lesley Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses (GSASS) Spring 5-16-2020 Bridging The Gap: Exploring Indian Classical Dances as a source of Dance/Movement Therapy, A Literature Review. Ruta Pai Lesley University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_theses Part of the Art Education Commons, Counseling Commons, Counseling Psychology Commons, Dance Commons, Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons, Other Arts and Humanities Commons, Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons, and the Performance Studies Commons Recommended Citation Pai, Ruta, "Bridging The Gap: Exploring Indian Classical Dances as a source of Dance/Movement Therapy, A Literature Review." (2020). Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses. 234. https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_theses/234 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences (GSASS) at DigitalCommons@Lesley. It has been accepted for inclusion in Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Lesley. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. BRIDGING THE GAP 1 Bridging the Gap: Exploring Indian Classical Dances as a source of Dance/Movement Therapy, A Literature Review. Capstone Thesis Lesley University August 5, 2019 Ruta Pai Dance/Movement Therapy Meg Chang, EdD, BC-DMT, LCAT BRIDGING THE GAP 2 ABSTRACT Indian Classical Dances are a mirror of the traditional culture in India and therefore the people in India find it easy to connect with them. These dances involve a combination of body movements, gestures and facial expressions to portray certain emotions and feelings. -
The Tradition of Kuchipudi Dance-Dramas1
The Tradition of Kuchipudi Dance-dramas1 Sunil Kothari The Historical Background Of the many branches of learning which flourished in Andhra from very early ti.mes not the least noteworthy is the tradition of the Natyashastra, embracing the tw1n arts of music and dance. The Natyashastra mentions the Andhra region m connection with a particular style of dance in the context of the Vritti-s. Bharata refers to Kaishiki Vrittt: a delicate and graceful movement in the dance of this reg1on .2 A particular raga by the name of Andhri was the contribution of this region to the music of India. The dance traditions in Andhra can be traced to various sources. The ancient temples, the Buddhist ruins excavated at Nagarjunakonda, Amaravati, Ghantasala, Jagayyapet and Bhattiprole indicate a flourishing dance tradition in Andhra. Of these the Amaravati stupa relics are the most ancient dating back to the second century B.C.3 They reveal the great choreographic possibilities of group and composite dances called pind1bandha-s, mentioned by Bharata and on which Abhinavagupta gives a detailed commentary in Abhinava Bharat1: 4 The history of dance, divided into two periods for the sake of convenience on account of the continuity of the Sanskrit and the later development of the vernacular regional languages, admits of two broad limits : from the second century B.C. to the ninth century A.D. and from the tenth century A.D. to the eighteenth century A.D. The latter period coincides with the growth of various regional styles and with the development of the tradition of Kuchipudi dance dramas. -
An Introduction to the Sattra Culture of Assam: Belief, Change in Tradition
Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics 12 (2): 21–47 DOI: 10.2478/jef-2018-0009 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SATTRA CULT URE OF ASSAM: BELIEF, CHANGE IN TRADITION AND CURRENT ENTANGLEMENT BABURAM SAIKIA PhD Student Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore University of Tartu Ülikooli 16, 51003 Tartu, Estonia e-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT In 16th-century Assam, Srimanta Sankaradeva (1449–1568) introduced a move- ment known as eka sarana nama dharma – a religion devoted to one God (Vishnu or Krishna). The focus of the movement was to introduce a new form of Vaishnava doctrine, dedicated to the reformation of society and to the abolition of practices such as animal sacrifice, goddess worship, and discrimination based on caste or religion. A new institutional order was conceptualised by Sankaradeva at that time for the betterment of human wellbeing, which was given shape by his chief dis- ciple Madhavadeva. This came to be known as Sattra, a monastery-like religious and socio-cultural institution. Several Sattras were established by the disciples of Sankaradeva following his demise. Even though all Sattras derive from the broad tradition of Sankaradeva’s ideology, there is nevertheless some theological seg- mentation among different sects, and the manner of performing rituals differs from Sattra to Sattra. In this paper, my aim is to discuss the origin and subsequent transformations of Sattra as an institution. The article will also reflect upon the implication of traditions and of the process of traditionalisation in the context of Sattra culture. I will examine the power relations in Sattras: the influence of exter- nal forces and the support of locals to the Sattra authorities. -
Odissi Dance) 2020 THREE YEAR FULL TIME PROGRAMME
Learning Outcome based Curriculum Framework (LOCF) For Undergraduate Programme B.P.A. (Odissi Dance) 2020 THREE YEAR FULL TIME PROGRAMME Syllabus and Scheme of Examination This shall be applicable for students seeking admission in B.P.A. Odissi Dance Programme in 2020-2021 DEPARTMENT OF PERFORMING ARTS Faculty of Indic Studies Sri Sri University DPA-B.P.A. (O.D.) Page 0 Introduction – The proposed programme shall be conducted and supervised by the Faculty of Indic Studies, Department of Performing Arts, Sri Sri University, Cuttack (Odisha). This programme has been designed on the Learning Outcomes Curriculum Framework (LOCF) under UGC guidelines, offers flexibility within the structure of the programme while ensuring the strong foundation and in-depth knowledge of the discipline. The learning outcome-based curriculum ensures its suitability in the present day needs of the student towards higher education and employment. The Department of Performing Arts at Sri Sri University is now offering bachelor degree program with specialization in Performing Arts (Odissi Dance and Hindustani Vocal Music) Vision – The Department of Performing Arts aims to impart holistic education to equip future artistes to achieve the highest levels of professional ability, in a learning atmosphere that fosters universal human values through the Performing Arts. To preserve, perpetuate and monumentalize through the Guru-Sishya Parampara (teacher-disciple tradition) the classical performing arts in their essence of beauty, harmony and spiritual evolution, giving scope for innovation and continuity with change to suit modern ethos. Mission : To be a center of excellence in performing arts by harnessing puritan skills from Vedic days to modern times and creating artistic expressions through learned human ingenuity of emerging times for furtherance of societal interest in the visual & performing arts.