The History of Classical Dance in India

Hello everyone! I found an old assignment from Mr. K's class on my computer that I can make into a blog post. It is about the 8 Classical Dances in India and the history behind them. This assignment was a PowerPoint, so I have modified it for this post obviously. I will include videos of each dance that I linked to in the original PowerPoint. I made this assignment for Grade 12 World History. I hope you enjoy this article even though it is old work and not that in depth.

The History of Classical Dance in India

Indian dance has many common elements, like gunghroo (anklets with bells, Murda (ancient sign language).
The dances are all ways of telling sacred Hindu stories through movement and Murda (ancient sign language) and are based on Natya Shastra from 400 BCE

Classical dances are all performed in Temples. And royal courts.

The classical dances are considered elemental, Bharata Natyam being fire, Kuchipudi being earth, Odissi is water, Mohiniyattam being air, Kathakali is sky.

Most of these dances were supressed during the British Raj. There has been a modern rebirth of these dances.

Odissi ଓଡ଼ିଶୀ

Oldest surviving form of Indian dance. Oldest evidence of Odissi is found in a cave called Manchapuri, where carved images of dances in 2nd century BCE. Odissi was originally a dance preformed at temples, not just Hindu temples but also Jain and Buddhist temples. Female dancers called Maharis were considered wives of the god Jagganath and devoted their lives to dance.

Bharata Natyam பரதநாட்டியம்

Also known as Sadir Attam
Bharata Natyam originated in the golden age called the Sangam of Tamil language arts.
Many dancers were Devadasis which has caused much controversy in its rebirth.
Bharata Natyam owes it’s modern rebirth to 4 brothers who documented it, Chinnayya, Ponnayya, Vadivelu, Sivanandam or the “Tanjore Quartrate” as their called in the dance community.

Kathak कथक

The name Kathak comes from Kathakas, which means storyteller. Kathakas were storytellers that passed the dances along to their children.
This dance was preformed in Mughal courts, by female dancers. Kathak has a lot of Persian influence.
Kathak was also preformed by tawaifs, as seen in the Bollywood movie “Umrao Jaan”.

Kuchipudi కూచిపూడి

Started in the village Kuchipudi Krishna, Andhra Pradesh.
Like other classical dance it is preformed in temples. Kuchipudi is a blend of Odissi and Bharata Natyam.
The dance was hidden so the Devadasi’s wouldn’t pick up this dance.
A unique part of Kuchipudi is dancing on a big brass plate with diyas(candles) in both hands while balancing a small water vessel on their head.

Mohiniyattam മോഹിനിയാട്ടം
Mohiniyatttam is preformed by women only. It was started in the 17th century in Kerala. Like the Tamil “Sangam” age, this period is considered to be the golden age of Kerala arts.
The name Mohiniyattam comes from the word Mohini meaning ‘enchanting women’ and Attam wich means dance. Put together it means “dance of the enchanrtess”

Kathakali കഥകളി

Like Mohiniyattam, Kathakali Originated in Kerala in the 17th century. Preformed by men only. The stories they tell through dance are based on the gods Rama and Krishna.
The dance lends from 2 other very similar dances “Krishnanattam and Ramanattam”
Kathakali uses lots of makeup and costumes.

Manipuri मणिपुरी नृत्य

This dance originates from Manipur, close to Myanmar. Based on tribal dances. Like Kathakali many of the stories are  about the god Krishna. Most preformances are about the ‘Raslila” story of Radha and Krishna.
Manipuri dancers do not wear ghungroo (anklets)

Sattriya সত্ৰীয়া নৃত্য

Sattriya is from Assam. It originated in the 15th century. It was created by the saint Srimanta Sankardeva. Like other classical dances it it telling stories through dance.
Sattriya wasn’t considered a classical dance till 2000

Sources:
www.wikipedia.org
www.youtube.com
http://onlinebharatanatyam.com
http://indiandancestyles.net

http://www.edmontonragamala.ab.ca