Bharatnatyam
Bharatnatyam Dance is considered to be over 2000 years old. Several texts beginning with Bharat Muni’s Natya Shastra (200 B.C.E. to 200 C.E.) provide information on this dance form. Bharatnatyam dance is known to be ekaharya, where one dancer takes on many roles in a single performance. The style was kept alive by the devadasis, who were married to the gods. As a solo dance, Bharatnatyam leans heavily on the abhinaya or mime aspect of dance - the nritya, where the dancer expresses the sahitya through movement and mime.
Mohiniyattam
Mohiniyattam literally interpreted as the dance of ‘Mohini’, the celestial enchantress of the
Hindu mythology, is the classical solo dance form of Kerala. The delicate body movements
and subtle facial expressions are more feminine in nature and therefore are ideally suited
for performance by women.
Kathakali
Kathakali is a blend of dance, music and acting and dramatizes stories, which are
mostly adapted from the Indian epics. It is a stylised art form, the four aspects of
abhinaya - angika, aharya, vachika, satvika and the nritya. Nritya and Natya aspects
are combined perfectly.
Kathak
The word Kathak has been derived from the word Katha which means a
story. Kathakars or story-tellers, are people who narrate stories largely
based on episodes from the epics, myths and legends. The Vaishnavite
cult which swept North India in the 15th century and the resultant bhakti
movement contributed to a whole new range of lyrics and musical forms.
The Radha-Krishna theme proved immensely popular alongwith the
works of Mirabai, Surdas, Nandadas and Krishnadas.
Kuchipudi
Kuchipudi is one of the classical styles of Indian dance. Around the third and fourth decade
of this century it emerged out of a long rich tradition of dance-drama of the same name. In
fact, Kuchipudi is the name of a village in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. It is about
35 km. from Vijaywada. Andhra has a very long tradition of dance-drama which was known
under the generic name of Yakshagana.
Odissi
Odisha, on the eastern sea coast, is the home of Odissi, one of the
many forms of Indian classical dance. Sensuous and lyrical, Odissi is a dance of love and
passion touching on the divine and the human, the sublime and the mundane. The Natya
Shastra mentions many regional varieties, such as the south-eastern style known as the
Odhra Magadha which can be identified as the earliest precursor of present day Odissi.
Odissi closely follows the tenets laid down by the Natya Shastra. Facial expressions, hand gestures and body
movements are used to suggest a certain feeling, an emotion or one of the nine rasas.
Manipuri
Manipuri, one of the main styles of Indian Art or Classical Dances originated in the picturesque
and secluded state of Manipur in the north-eastern corner of India. Because of its
geographical location, the people of Manipur have been protected from outside influences,
and this region has been able to retain its unique traditional culture. Lai Haraoba is one of
the main festivals still performed in Manipur which has its roots in the pre-Vaishnavite period.
The themes often depict the pangs of separation of the gopis and Radha from Krishna.
Sattriya
The Sattriya dance form was introduced in the 15th century A.D. by the great Vaishnava
saint and reformer of Assam, Mahapurusha Sankaradeva as a powerful medium for
propagation of the Vaishnava faith. The dance form evolved and expanded as a distinctive style of dance later on