A central conception
In Indian dance, the human body has been conceived of as a mass, which can be equally divided among the central median. Further movement is determined by the nature of deflections from this median.... What is distinctive in Bharatanatyam is the fact that it conceives of movement in space mostly along either straight lines or triangles. The head forms the first unit and lateral movements of the head are common. The torso is seen as another unit and is hardly ever broken up into the upper or the lower torso. The lower limbs are seen as either straight lines or two sides of an imaginary triangle in space. The upper limbs either follow the lower limbs or weave circular patterns along space which is governed by the lower limbs. It is the latter aspect, along with the use of the torso as a single unit that gives Bharatanatyam its particularity. -Kapila Vatsyayan in Indian Classical Dance, 1974. Adavu The adavu is the basic unit of [Bharatanatyam] composition.... A cadence of the hands combined with a rhythmic movement of the feet and a harmonious flexion of the body in precise coordination is called adavu. Each adavu is identified by a syllabary or rhythmic phrase- e.g., ta tai tam - dhit tai tam. Adavu-s are the basic vocabulary of dance composition... there are ten different classes of adavu-s- and in each class twelve varieties- a total of 120 fundamental dance motifs which may be combined in endless variations of choreographic design.... A series of adavu-s strung together in a section of timing (tala avarta) forms a dance pattern (teermanam or adavu jati). While the feet articulate the rhythm, formalised gestures of the hands and arms combined with stylised movements of the body create beautiful plastic designs in space. -Ragini Devi in Dance Dialects of India, 1990. Sringara Sringara stands supreme in the range of emotions. [It] is the cardinal emotion which gives the fullest scope for artistic improvisation, branching off continuously, as it does, into the portrayal of innumerable moods full of newness and nuances.... The sringara we experience in Bharatanatyam is never carnal, never, never. For those who have yielded themselves to its discipline with total dedication, dance, like music, is the practice of the Presence; it cannot be merely the body's rapture. [Bharatanatyam] is primarily a woman's art. By the very fact of the lover being god, the union longed for is not of the physical but of the spiritual plane. It is the yearning of the individual soul for merger with the cosmic soul that is figuratively expressed in the erotic idiom. Yet the spiritual quality of Bharatanatyam is not achieved through the elimination of the sensual but through the seemingly sensual itself, thereby sublimating it. -T. Balasaraswati, in Bala on Bharatanatyam, 1991. Sringara means love, but this is not confined to rati sringara. There is bhakti sringara and vatsalya sringara besides rati sringara.... Even in rati sringara, the erotic element must be refined. In India, even in ideal life, a certain discipline is exercised in showing our love for another. We don't generally do it in public, although some people do it everywhere. Same with art. If the act of kissing is to be depicted, it should be done with subtlety, artistically. Someone or other may present this act without beauty, but this should not be construed to mean eroticism is unacceptable. - Kalanidhi Narayanan, in an interview, Sruti 171. The Varnam Varnam is the most complex, interesting, challenging item- the piece de resistance in a recital to prove the virtuosity and stamina of a Bharatanatyam dancer. [It comprises] the most complicated dance sequences. -Susheela Misra in Invitation to Indian Dance, 1987. The varnam provides the fullest scope to the dancer to improvise on a given theme.... In terms of technique, the dancer has freedom to improvise on the musical note as well as on the literary word. In the abhinaya portions, the dancer presents either a word-for-word interpretation or renders through gesture the meaning of a complete line. She can also present through gestures other images related to but not contained in the word. In this respect, the varnam calls for all the imaginative faculties at the command of the dancer, who must possess a rich literary background. Without this, the dancer would be at a loss to present the words through the gestures in a variety of ways.... -Kapila Vatsyayan, op. cit. Varna is the most elaborate composition of the dance which calls forth the versatility of the danseuse in pure dance and mime.... The most fascinating element of the varna is the exposition of the transient moods of love (sanchari bhava) in mimetic dance. The dancer thus creates a gesture poem of her own to enlarge the poetic theme of the song. -Ragini Devi, in Dance Dialects of India, 1990. |
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