Indian Dance

Indian dance

In India dance is considered to be divine origin. Gods and goddesses not only find joy in dance, drama and mime, but many are good dancers themselves. Shiva's cosmic dance, Tandava, is believed to include creation, maintenance and destruction, and this idea has been embedded in Hindu thought and ritual since the dawn of civilization. The dances of Kali, the dark and hard goddess of destruction is very great. Krishna is one of the most popular dance of the Hindu gods. Spoken in the mythological texts Apsaras, the heavenly courtesans of Indra's court, which can change their shapes at will. Urvasi, Meneka, Rambha and Tilottama is the most famous among the Apsaras, who are well versed in art, music and dance.

The common root of all classical dance forms can be traced to Bharata's Natyasastra, which is a great deal of work in science and engineering Indian drama, dance and music. It contains reflections on various types of posts, the mudra, and their meanings, the kind of emotions and their categorization, in addition to the kind of attire, the scenes, ornaments and audience. The Natyashastra, Brahma, the creator and the first of the Hindu Triad, was asked to create an earlier stage of the gods. As such, Brahma had created the drama. He then took pathya (words) form the Rigveda, abhinaya (gesture) from the Yajurveda, geet (music and chant) from Samaveda and rasa (sentiment and emotional element) from Atharvaveda to form the fifth Veda, Natyaveda.

More realistically, dance was a part of the art of dramatic theater in ancient India, especially in non-Aryan, primarily Dravidan community. There is ample evidence of the popularity of dance in Indian society, from the Mesolithic period. The first and the oldest evidence to date is the discovery of the bronze figure of a dancer from the Indus Valley Civilization excavations at Mohenjodaro and Harappa. Dancing figures are often seen in many primitive cave paintings and sculptures on the temples and stupas.

In India, dance and music pervade all aspects of life and bring color, joy and laughter to a number of festivals and ceremonies. Dance is a form of communication that bring the inner emotions and simultaneously portrays the cultural aspects of a civilization. Indian classical dance is the dance of mind and soul and is very traditional. Indian dance is very sensual, but the experience of Ananda (bliss), the produce is very spiritual. Rasa (mood or taste) as a source of ananda (bliss) as the fundamental essence of beauty and harmony in Indian aesthetics. Vbhava (cause of emotion), anubhava (effect of emotion) and sanchari or vyavhichari Bhava (subordinate emotions) constitute the state of rasa.

Them in their change so sthayi Bhava (primary emotion) into rasa or bliss. All dance forms are thus structured around the nine Rasas hasya or emotions (happiness), krodha (anger) bhibasta (disgust), bhaya (fear), Shoka (sorrow), viram (v), Karuna (compassion), adbhuta (MON ) and Shanta (serenity). All dance forms follow the same hand gestures or hasta mudra for each of these Rasas. The dances differ where the local genius has adapted it to local requirements and needs.

Indian dance is divided into nritta - the rhythmic elements nritya - the combination of rhythm with expression and natya - the dramatic element. Nritya usually expressed through eyes, hands and facial movements. Nritya combined with nritta represents the usual dance programs. Later, when art evolved, other awards were described, including the male (Tandava) or powerful, strong, solid element, and the female (lasya), soft, fluid and subtle. All this is presented as a comprehensive package designed to create rasa or pleasure to see an aesthetic performance.

There are four strong elements of the classical dance form: shastra, sculpture, folk tradition and ancient literature. These traditions were kept alive by a long and distinguished series of 'gurus' who dedicated their lives to perfecting the art form and handing it down to the next generation. The Gurus kept dancing traditions alive through the old method of teaching, Guru-Shishya Parampara. In this tradition, lived serious and devoted students with their master, as in a family, to perfect their dance training over the years. In exchange, they looked after and cared for their Guru. They grew vegetables and fruits on earth, cooked, cleaned and given an income through dance recitals.

Most Indian dances take their themes from India's rich mythology and folklore. Hindu gods and goddesses as Vishnu and Lakshmi, Rama and Sita, Krishna and Radha are all depicted in classical Indian dance. Each dance form also draws inspiration from stories depicting the life, ethics and faith in the Indian people. For centuries, dance was performed regularly at the temples before the deity as a devotional exercise. This gave rise to Devadasis, the dancing girls in temples, which was held in great respect and awe in the early days. They offered their dances and songs as prayer and oblation at the foot of the temple deity. Since dance is an expression of devotional life, every dance still begins with a prayer. According to Abhinaya Darpana of Nandikeshvara that 'those who are versed in the Science of Dance to say that dance is vulgar, where the actress does not begin with a prayer. "

Having been born and raised in temples for centuries, the Indian classical dance reached the courts. Dance concerts or public performances of the dances are a relatively new phenomenon. Today, Indian classical and modern dance are immensely popular throughout the world and carved a niche for themselves.