THE SIGNIFICANCE OF UNIFORMITY IN KATHAK NRITTA HASTA (original) (raw)

Indian Classical Dances: Techniques and Means of Expression 1

2017

Similar to all dancers around the world, performers of Indian classical dances use body limbs and their movements as the medium of expressing their message too. In every dance, the body movements represent feelings, emotions and the purpose of the dancers. Since Indian classical dances have got their roots in Hindu gods worshiping, and are performed to worship them (based on religious laws, dancing is essential in worshiping), each movement of the dance has a special meanings. Present research aims to study and identify the means of expression including body movements, make up method, costume and stage accessories as the media and tool of expression in this ancient art. Present research also tries to answer the following question: are these body movements symbolic in Indian ritual dances? What are their meanings? When are they employed? Present research is a descriptive study documenting data through documentary and field study methods. Based on obtained results dancers try to repre...

New Directions in Indian Dance

Dance Research Journal, 2004

Illustrated with stunning photographs which brilliantly capture the dynamism of the act of dancing, this volume is not only a delight for the eye, it is also intellectually stimulating. This is a book which marks a seminal moment in the historiography of Indian dance. Written for a non-specialist readership, it takes stock, examines, and celebrates, for the first time, the exciting work, increasingly known as modern/contemporary dance to differentiate it from the classical tradition, created by Indian performers throughout the twentieth century. Most of the essays have been written by practitioners reflecting on their experience but there are also contributions by non-practitioners, such as an essay on the pioneering choreographer Uday Shankar by Kapila Vatsyayan, a most influential Indian writer and scholar who has been instrumental in initiating critical debate within Indian dance, and other essays written by dance critics such as Kothari himself, Arundhati Subrahmanyam, and Sanjoy Roy, a journalist based in the United Kingdom. After a measured introduction by Kothari, the reader is taken on a historical journey, beginning with a section entitled Early Experiments. Here one encounters a reprint of Vatsyayan's 1974 essay on Shankar and his associates, covering work from the 1930s to the early 1970s. The essay is augmented with an "Afterthought" authored by Vatsyayan in 2002, in which she reiterates the difficulty of attempting to "chalk out" any "linear graph" concerning developments, emphasising that classical and contemporary are not mutually exclusive and experimentation occurs across the board. What is lacking, says Vatsyayan, is a critical discourse within the Indian context which matches "the proliferation and eclecticism in performance" (31). This is indeed a gap which should be filled and this volume makes a first move in this direction. The next essay is by the late Manjushri Chaki Sircar, founder of the Dancers' Guild in Calcutta, where a new methodology, later turned into a full-fledged dance technique, known as navanritya, was fashioned by her and her daughter Ranjabati, whose essay on navanritya appears in the following section. Chaki Sircar writes about Tagore and the modernisation of dance, foregrounding the great Bengali poet's cosmopolitanism which led him to embrace western and Southeast Asian influences. He was also inspired by traditional Indian forms such as Kathakali and Manipuri, distilling his own concept of dance and his own idiom out of this interesting amalgam. Chaki Sircar

Intergenerational Adaptation in North Indian Kathak Dance

Anthropological Notebooks, 2010

Kathak, a classical dance form from northern India, characterised by rhythmically sophisticated footwork, quick turns and storytelling, is traditionally passed down from teacher to student through a close relationship known as the guru-shishya parampara (teacher-disciple tradition). This article examines the shifts in teaching and dance techniques over three generations of gurus and shishyas within one gharānā (stylistic school) of Kathak. Both the culture of training and dance materials have been adapted to changing socio-historical realities, from the decline of the courtesan culture and the growing independence movement in northern India in the early 20 th century to the dance's transplantation in North America in the latter part of the century. This close study of one dance lineage illuminates the impact that changing historical realities and individual proclivities have played in kathak's stylistic development. It demonstrates that even the basic elements of this style of kathak have been subject to change; furthermore, this flexibility has been a vital part of the teaching of this solo performance tradition since at least the mid-twentieth century. Dance finely tunes sensibilities, helping to shape the practices, behaviours, beliefs and ideas of people's lives. At the same time, the multiplicity of ethnographic realities shapes the unique and historical occasion of any dance. All this raises questions about the transmission and transformation of dance from one cultural setting to another, as well as from one historical period to another (Bull 1997: 285).

Language of Movement: Cultural Significance of Indian Dances

Imaging India ISBN: 978-93-94808-55-3, 2023

Indian classical and folk dances are an integral part of India's rich cultural heritage. They are not only a form of entertainment but also a medium of preservation of culture and traditions. Indian classical dances are ancient and traditional forms of artistic expression that are deeply rooted in religion and spirituality also. They are seen as a form of meditation or yoga and can have the same impact as a yajna. Indian folk dances, on the other hand, are performed throughout the world to celebrate a new season, childbirth, weddings, festivals, and other social occasions 2. This chapter explores how Indian classical and folk dances serve as a medium for the preservation of culture and traditions. Imaging India ISBN: 978-93-94808-55-3

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HASTA MUDRĀS AND THEIR INTERPRETATIONS IN DANCE

IJCRT - International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts, 2018

The purpose of the paper is to critically analyse the term Hasta Mudrās in terms of its origin, evolution and its usage in various disciplines. It analyses the terminology “Hasta Mudra” and critically analyses their attributes in comparison with various texts and scholars. It explores on its objectives and significance in general and introspects into dance. This research paper tries to enlighten the various domains of Hasta Mudrās and highlights its benefits and usages in various disciplines like Dance, religious practices of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism etc. It tries to investigate the various types of Hasta Mudrās used in Dance that are explained by various scholars in various treatises on Dance and allied subjects. The research paper also analyses scientifically the various ways and means of holding the Hasta Mudrās and their positions (Articulations, Pronation and Supination). Finally, it concludes highlighting the various benefits and usages of Hasta Mudrās.

Contemporary Indian Dance: New Creative Choreography in India and the Diaspora by Ketu H. Katrak. 2011. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. xxxviii + 255 pp., photographs, notes, bibliography, glossary. $85.00 cloth

Dance Research Journal, 2013

The author uses the English translations throughout, but the Spanish-language terms will be more familiar to those with knowledge of Mexican dance and folklore. 2. A number of contributions in the recent volume Dancing Across Borders: Danzas y Bailes Mexicanos edited by Olga Nájera-Ramírez, Norma Cantú, and Brenda Romero (2009) examine related topics in some depth, including the embodiment of indigeneity (Huerta), the authenticity of folklórico dance (Nájera-Ramírez), and mestizaje and indigenismo in the repertoire of the national folk dance company, Ballet Folklórico de Mexico (my own contribution).