Vaishnavi Vaidyanathan

Bharatanatyam is the most popular among the seven classical dance-forms of India. Although originated more than 2000 years ago, Natyashastra in its current form called Abhinaya Darpana is around 300 years old. Till the 20th century Bharatanatyam used to be performed in the temples to please the Lord. The dancers were called Devadasis - Servants of God. During the end of 20th century, Bharatanatyam lost its importance in temples and converted into a performing art on theatre stages.

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Bharatanatyam is known for its grace, harmony, purity, tenderness and sculpturesque poses. Lord Shiva is considered the God of this dance form. Taandava, the male aspect of dance, and Laasya, the female aspect, both give the dancer scope for colourful and varied movements.

Two of the main aspects of Bharatanatyam are pure dance and narrative dance. Pure dance focuses on rhythm and is of pure joy. The dancer uses the limbs and bodylines to create am aestetic experience for the audience as well as for the dancer itself.

The narrative part of dance is where the dancer conveys mythological stories by switching from one character to another. This is truly the most challenging aspect of indian dance.

The roots as well as the aim of Bharatanatyam are highly spiritual. Along with the dancer, the audience gets lifted up from the temporal to the eternal level.

Bharatnatyam is the oldest Indian dance form .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).