Bharatanatyam

 Bharatnatyam has been practiced for thousands of years.  The art is said to have directly evolved from Lord Shiva known as Lord Nataraja (King of Dance) who is the cosmic  dancer. According to 'Abhinaya Darpanam' and 'Natya Sastra', Lord Brahma gave the Natyaveda or the science of dance to Sage Bharata. Bharata presented the art form with a   group of Gandharvas (heavenly musicians) and Asparas (heavenly dancers) in the court of Lord nataraja .  Lord Shiva having been reminded of his majestic performance instructed Bharata the essence of the art through his followers.

Being pleased with the astute nature of Bharata, Lord Shiva instructed Lasya (graceful movements) through Goddess Parvati.  Goddess Parvati also instructed the art to Usha, the daughter of the Sun-God.  Usha taught this to the milk-maids of Dwaraka, who in turn taught the art to the women of Saurashtra. From there, the art pervaded the whole world.

Purpose of Dance:
The main purpose of dance is to evoke Rasa, which means sentiment or flavor among the audience.  
Abhinaya Darpanam says:
Yatho Hasthas Thatho Dhrishti
Yatho Dhrishtis Thatho Manaha
Yatho Manas Thatho Bhavaha
Yatho Bhavas Thatho Rasaha

This is a very important verse and it means:

Where the Hands go, the Eyes should follow
Where the Eyes go, the Mind should follow suit
Where the Mind goes, the Psychological state should follow
Where the Psychological state goes, Sentiment arises.

A good dancer needs to evoke the sentiment of the audience by following the essence of this verse.

Divisions of Dance or Natana
Dance is of four kinds according to sages like Bharata - Natya, Nrtta, Nrttya and Abhinaya.
Natya or Nataka has some theme or story for it.  This is a combination of music, dialogue rendering and rhythmic movement of the body.
Nrtta is the portion of dance which does not relate to any psychological state or Bhava.
Nrttya is dance that relates to sentiment or rasa and psychological states.  This dance is fit to find a place in the court of great kings.
Abhinaya is that form of dance which is rich in expressions and evokes feelings among the audience.

The dance form was initially practiced by Devadasis (Devotees or servants of God) and was performed in the temple.  It then moved to the courts of kings who nurtured and lavishly encouraged the artists.  Later and in the present age, the art is practiced and taught by women /men of affluent families.  

Adavus
Adavus are the basic steps taught to the students.   bharatanatyam Adavus are of different kinds  Tattadavu, Natadavu, TattaMettadavu, Kattadavu, Kudittamettadavu, Maiadavu, Mandiadavu, Sarigaiadavu and many more.  
These lead to Jathis  or Korvais( a combination of adavus set to intricate rhythmic patterns) and Theermans (effective finishing to Jathis in a sequence).

bharatanatyam Adavus are done in the Araimandi (half sitting postures).  Sitting in the proper araimandi posture is an essential feature of Bharatnatyam.  Further the Adavus have to be executed with Angasudham  (clarity in the bodily postures).  

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