Bharata Natyam is one of India’s oldest and gracious dance forms.
Bharatha Natyam is one of the seven classical dance forms of India,chiefly associated with the South of India ie Tamil Nadu.The name of sage Bharatha or form its origin in the Bharatha Desha.Bharatha Natyam is also iterpreted as Bhaaram Tharayithi Bharatham -the true dispeller of grief and anguish.Baratha Natyam is also that which encompasses Bhaavam (emotional content),Raga (melody) and Thaalam(rhythm).
For long this dance was also referred to as Sadir or Dasiattam, drawing from an ancient tradition of girls who chose to be wedded to God and spend their lifetime in his servitude. Such ladies were called Devadasis (servants of God) or Nitya Sumangalis (one who would remain auspicious and happily wedded forever) . Such dasis performed music and dance dedicated to the temple during all auspicious festivals, also fanned the deity with chamara and held the lamp or the kumbharthi in sacred processions. They initially held esteemed place in society and were well cared for by the temple and the local ruler.
The literary content of Bharata Natyam was initially inspired by the devoted outpourings of Nayanmars (Shaivaite saints) and Alwars (Vaishnavaite saints), whose influence grew around the tenth century.
The saint poets of later medieval period and early modern period of Indian history, further enhanced the literary content of Bharata Natyam repertorie.
The earliest task of redefining and formalising the repertorie of Dasiattam was carried by four brothers from Tanjore, popularly referred to as the Tanjore quartet (Chinnaiyah, Ponnaiyah, Vadivelu and Sivanandan), to whom we owe the modern day repertorie.
Due to the circumstantial deterioration of the Devadasi system around the beginning of the twentieth century, this practice was banned by a Government Legislation. It was at this time that in 1931, the Madras Music Academy took up the losing cause of this tradition along with Shri E. Krishnaiyer. The first momentous stem was the rechristening of Sadirattam as Bharata Natyam, to present the art in new light.
Enlightened members of society such as Shri E. Krishnaiyer and Smt. Rukmani Devi took to reforming the status of the dance form by introducing further stylization and logical technique in its practice.
Smt Rukmani Devi’s sojourn in this dance formblossomed only in her thirties making her the first Brahmin woman to pursue dance in the latter twentieth century. She was instrumental in later forming the Mecca of Bharata Natyam in Madras - Kalakshetra. She was also one whose aesthetics greatly enhanced the costume and overall representation as dance as we see it today.
This particular dance form was more earth based as seen from its very grounded strong movements from the Ayatha Mandala or the demi plea - araimandi position. The repetorie of a performance is known to consist of Alarippu (drawing from the Telugu phrase of Alarimppu, meaning adorned with flowers), which is the first step of the dancer into blossomig into a full-fledged artiste.
The next item is the Jathiswaram, where pure dance sequences or jathis are strung together to a garland of Swaras, forming simple but interesting rythmic and physical patterns.
The Shabdam introduces the aspect of emotional content onto the hitherto and where danceuse, in small amounts along with the regular Nritta or pure sequences. This intermingling of pure dance and drama (Natya) is called Nritya.
The dancer’s test of stamina and understanding of physical media and its literary content is the Varnam (originally called Vannam or colour). The longest item of the repetorie, the Varnam, adequately exploits the dancers’ experience in the art with its extensive dramatic sequences and challenging sequences and challenging complex rhythmic footwork.
Next follow Padams (derived from the term Padagalu, meaning precious gems). The Padams allow the artiste to explore great depths of emotion surging forth as Bhakti or devotion and Sringaara or love for the God.
Following the Padams, we ocassionaly encounter lighter items like Javalis or intense Ashtapadis that are more inclined to Sringara or the sentiment of love and that which explore in detail the multifacets of fleeting emotions that result from the main feeling of love.
Thus these items are replete with Sancharis, which are extrapolations or extensions of a central idea, seen by way of a multitude of stories, either mythical or puranic.
The repetorie then concludes with a Thillana (derived from Tiralaanadu or that which is fast), that comprises Nritta sequences again, complex footwork and the pure joy of dance.
