Bharatanatyam Dance 

 

Costume:-

Bharatanatyam Dance costumes for women resemble Indian saris, but are specialized for the dance. Despite the resemblance to saris, they are not single pieces of cloth, but combinations of a number of specially stitched pieces. This customization makes them easier to wear, and easier to dance in than a sari. Most costumes involve pleated pieces at the waist than fan out attractively during various movements. The costumes are bright and colorful. They inherit from the sari tradition the use of contrasting border colors, and the borders of the various pieces of the costumes form patterns that decorate Bharatanatyam Dance form.

An essential item of the  costumes of Bharatanatyam  is the pair of anklets or ankle bells (salangai in Tamil, gungaroo in Hindi). They make the rhythmic footwork of the dance audible. Dancers treat their salangai like musicians treat their instruments (in India, that is). The salangai are blessed by the dancer’s guru, they are worshipped on special occasions, and are never worn casually.

Women’s costumes involve a significant amount of jewelry, including bangles, rings, earrings, nose rings, and special ornaments for the arms and head.

There is, of course, makeup for the dance, and Bharatanatyam makeup has a few unique features. Heavy lines are drawn around the eyes, extending outwards past the eyes. Similarly, the eyebrows are darkened and extended outwards with liner. The purpose of this makeup is to accentuate the movements of the eyes and eyebrows, and make them more visible, because they are an important part of the dance, especially for expression. A red dye is applied to the soles of the feet and the tips of the toes, as well as to the fingertips. It is also painted in a solid circle in the palm of each hand. This unique decoration serves to emphasize the movements of the hands and feet.

The costumes of men are simpler, usually a dhoti covering the lower body and no upper garment. The men also wear ankle bells or salangai. They wear much less jewelry than women. Men do apply the same makeup to the eyes as women, since it serves an important purpose in the dance, but not to the hands and feet.

The costumes of Bharatanatyam  is intended to look beautiful. It was the dress worn to dance for gods in temples, or for kings in palaces. When a dancer enters, the costume leaves no doubt that it is a special occasion.

Music

Bharatanatyam is accompanied by music of the Carnatic style, that has been specialized for dance. The music is specialized in a few ways.

• In a music concert, the musician’s talent is displayed; in a dance performance, the musicians must focus on accompaniment and support the dancer. Excessive ornamentation and improvisation in the music distracts from the dance. Improvisation is left to the dancer, in particular phases of items. The musicians must be able to take cues from the dancer to make impromptu adjustments.
• The range of tempos in the music is limited to what a dancer can physically handle. The percussionists must also play so that they emphasize the beats that are important to the dancer, and avoid virtuoso demonstrations that don’t support the dancer.
• The musical group for a dance performance includes someone capable of doing nattuvangam, that is, calling out rhythmic syllables that denote dance movements, and striking cymbals on particular beats as cues to the dancer. This skill usually belongs to dancers and dance teachers, and not to concert musicians.

Bharatanatyam goes hand in hand with Carnatic music. Many dance items, like the padam, varnam, kirtanam, and tillana, share their names with musical items that have the same structure. The thematic content of the music and dance are the same. This is natural, as both art forms are South Indian in origin.

Music that is composed for dance items typically makes use of rhythmic patterns (talas) and melodies (ragas) that suit the theme of the dance. The synergy between the music and dance is important in transmitting an experience of the theme to the audience. The expressive power of Carnatic music is such that often the music alone can move the audience. Depending on how you look at it, this either frees the dancer of the responsibility to deliver a strong performance, or challenges the dancer to do justice to the music.

Distinctive Features:-

Now we’ll encounter some terminology and classifications. The terminology is necessary to describe some deeper aspects of Bharatanatyam, and the classifications of various facets of the dance illustrate how well developed an art form it is.

Nritta, Nritya, Natya

At the functional level, the dance has three aspects:

• Nritta: Abstract dance movements with rhythm, but without expression of a theme or emotion. Also called pure dance.
• Nritya: Interpretive dance, using facial expressions, hand gestures, and body movements to portray emotions and express themes.
• Natya: The dramatic aspect of a stage performance, including spoken dialogue and mime, to convey meaning and enact narrative.

Despite some overlap between natya and nritya, they differ in that natya does not include dance, and nritya does not include speech. While Bharatanatyam includes the mimetic and narrative aspects of natya, it does not use spoken dialogue. The definitions of terms like nritta, natya, and nritya are not critical for a spectator, but it’s good to know that these elements are present as features of the dance. In different Bharatanatyam numbers, the balance between nritta, natya, and nritya varies. In general, the dominant aspect of Bharatanatyam is nritya.

One way to tell whether a dancer is doing nritta or nritya is by the music. The music for passages of pure nritta does not have lyrics; the names of rhythmic beats are called out, or the names of musical notes are sung. For interpretive dance with nritya and natya components, lyrics with meaning are sung, and the dance expresses the sentiment or the meaning of the lyrics. Another way to distinguish nritta and nritya is by the facial expressions of the dancer. Nritta is usually done with a smile, and despite eye movements, the face maintains a stable emotion. In nritya, various expressions cross the dancer’s face, showing different emotions. All the parts of the face may be active in displaying the emotions. There are Bharatanatyam items that are entirely abstract, and others that are entirely interpretive, but most of them include elements of nritta and nritya, often in alternating passages.

Click On The Buttons & Learn More Information  :-