Pictures

Bharatanatyam takes a lot of time to master. Usually, the courses for Bharatantaym are divided into seven different levels. Each level take up to a year and so the course is seven years long. The number of years might depend on the institute or instructor. Each level has two semesters, and therefore two exams per year. At the beginning of the first year, the instructors or gurus start with teaching the basics and build upon them throughout the course. Some of the basics include Namaskara, Hand Gestures, Basic body postures, and Basic Adavus. Apart from that the expressions, costumes, hair and jewelry also play a huge role in expressing this dance form.

The Basics of Bharatanatyam

Namaskara

Namaskar is a Bharatanatyam routine that is carried out before starting to dance. The purpose of this is to show respect and gratitude towards the guru, audience, mother Earth, stage, and musicians.

Body Postures

The body posture of this dance can also have a huge impact on depicting different things. There are three basic standing positions - Samapada, Aramandi, and Murumandi.

Hand Gestures

Hand gestures play a huge role in performing this dance form. By positioning the fingers in various positions, one can depict numerous different gestures such as birds, a person, animals, etc. This is called a mudra.

Adavus

Adavus are a combination of different hand gestures, footwork, and body postures. This adavus further build up the different repertoire of Bharatanatyam.

Purpose of Learning Bharatanatyam

There are some people who argue that Bharatanatyam comes from the Devdasi culture, which was around 300 BCE. Devdasi literally means the servants of the Dev temple. Although there are others who oppose saying that this concept came around the 19th century. The origin is not completely sure. But we do know that this dance is also a form to worship gods and goddesses.

In addition to dancing to paying respect to the gods and goddesses, Bharatanatyam can be learned and performed for numerous different things. Some of these things include leisure, entertainment, workout, or even if you are a serious dancer. Dedication is important while learning any kind of art. Learning Bharatanatyam can be helpful as it is sometimes known as the basis for all. Some people say that if you learn Bharatanatyam, it becomes easier for you to learn other classical dances. The other classical dances include Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri, and Mohiniyattam.