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The Glory of Bharatanatyam

Bharatanatyam dance movements

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Before we jump into the world of Bharatanatyam movements,

let's watch a video of a Bharatanatyam performance!

The video you just watched was an excerpt from Pushpanjali - an invocatory piece in Bharatanatyam.

Was there any dance move or expression the dancer

did which stands out to you? If yes, why?

What do you think?

(Invocation is the act of invoking or calling upon a deity, spirit, etc.)

Movements in Bharatanatyam

Bharatanatyam consists of two kinds of movements, abstract and expressive. 

 

Abstract movements are merely done to show rhythm and create beauty. There is no other purpose for doing the movements, its purpose is to provide decoration to the dance. Expressive movements, on the other hand, show emotions and convey meanings, through hand gestures, postures and facial expressions. 

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The movements in Bharatanatyam have traces of other classical Indian dance and are relatively unique. Bharatanatyam movements are mostly described as geometric as the basic postures and movements incorporate geometry. For example, Bharatanatyam dancers create basic geometric shapes like the line, square, rectangle or triangle with their bodies, which tell stories.

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Some other traits of Bharatanatyam are dynamic, energetic, precise and balanced. The basic posture of Bharatanatyam centre the weight of the dancer, and uses little of the hips or off-balance positions. 

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Bharatanatyam has a range of movements, from rhythmic stamping of the feet to jumping, to pirouettes and to positions where the knee comes into contact with the floor. The basic stance of Bharatanatyam is called adavu, where the knees are bent and turned outward. The Bharatanatyam dancers execute the dance movements in the adavu stance, and when performed by an expert dancer, the movements flow together gracefully and beautifully.


A unique feature of Bharatanatyam is the movement of the eyes, which complement and highlight the movements of the body. This makes Bharatanatyam a dance that makes use of almost every part of the body.
 

Distinctive Features of Bharatanatyam

Bharatanatyam comprises of three distinct features, Nritta, Nritya and Natya.

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Nritta

  • Nritta is abstract dance movements with rhythm but without expression of a theme or emotion. It is also known as pure dance.

  • The abstract movements of nritta create a variety of rhythmic patterns, shapes and forms in coordination with the music. 

  • Both movements and music complement each other, which displays the beauty of the dynamic abstract form. Nritta can be recognised when the singer sings the names of notes or when the nattuvanar (guru) calls out rhythmic syllables.

  • Nritta is a technical dance that has a sophisticated vocabulary which builds intricate combinations and rhythmic patterns. The movements do not convey any meaning, hence they are abstract movements

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Nritya

  • Nritya is interpretive dance, using facial expressions, hand gestures and body movements to portray emotions and express themselves. Nritya is an expressive movement.

  • Nritya is the dominant aspect of Bharatanatyam.

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Natya

  • Natya is the dramatic aspect of a stage performance, which includes spoken dialogue and mime. Natya conveys meaning and enact narratives.

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How do you tell them apart?

The music used for nritta does not have lyrics, while the music used for nritya and natya includes lyrics, that holds meaning, and the dance expresses the sentiment or meaning of the lyrics. Natya includes spoken dialogue, while nritta and nritya do not.


Another way to distinguish between nritta and nritya is by the dancer’s facial expression. Nritta is usually done with a smile and the dancer maintains a stable emotion on his or her face. In nritya, the dancers show a range of expressions on their face, which portrays different emotions. The dancers may also use their whole face to display different emotions.

Dance Vocabulary of Bharatanatyam

Here are some of the important dance vocabulary in Bharatanatyam.

Adavu

  • The basic unit of dance in Bharatanatyam is the adavu. Adavu gives Bharatanatyam its distinctive look and each adavu is the combination of steps or positions coordinated movements of the feet, legs, hands, arms, torso, head and eyes.

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  • Many adavus are executed with the legs bent, knees outward, heels together and toes outward - a position called araimandi. 

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  • There are about 120 adavus in total, and are all divided into numerous groups and subgroups. Some adavus are accompanied by rhythmic syllables, or sollukattus, that put together the steps of the adavu in a time sequence or meter.

Mudra

  • There are countless mudras, with each mudra having a name and holding multiple meanings.

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  • In nritya, the mudras are used to convey certain meanings and are the most critical aspect of the expressive language of the dance. The mudras used in nritya express concepts like truth, beauty, and depict words, thoughts and actions.

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  • Mudras used in nritya are accompanied by facial expressions to display emotions. However, when mudras are used in nritta, they are merely decorative and do not convey any meaning.

Abhinaya

  • The facial expression of Bharatanatyam are called abhinaya, and the dancers use facial expressions to show emotions and these emotions are either derived from the poetry in the music or belong to the character portrayed. 

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  • The emotions the dancers express evokes a response, feeling or sentiment within the audience, which helps communicate the dancer’s inner experience to the audience.

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  • For example, to portray the emotion of love, the dancer would portray different transitory feelings like impatience, weakness, excitement, anxiety, and more, to suggest the longing for one’s beloved. 

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  • In Bharatanatyam, there are nine emotions called Nava Rasas - shringara (love, eros), vira (valour, heroism), karuna (sadness), adbhuta (awe, amazement), raudra (fury), hasya (laughter, humour), bhayanaka (fear), bibhatsa (revulsion), and shanta (peace). 

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  • For example, to illustrate sadness by describing the flow of tears, the dancers would use hand gestures combined with facial expressions to express his or her sadness.

Here are the mudras you will need for our game, Mudra Magic.
We challenge you to memorise the mudra names and their meanings! Only five will be used in the activity. 
Click here for the game instructions.
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References

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Chavez, J. (2016, March 31). UTSA researcher wants to use classical Indian dance to teach schoolchildren geometry. University of Texas at San Antonio. https://www.utsa.edu/today/2016/03/bharatanatyam.html
 

Hoffman, K. (n.d.). Description of Bharatanatyam. Rangashree. http://www.rangashree.com/bharatanatyam-description.html


Kala Vandanam. (2015, December 12). About Bharatanatyam. https://kalavandanam.com/about-bharatanatyam/
 

Abstract and expressive movements
Mudra List
Nritta, Nritya, Natya
Mudras
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© Averil, Carmen, Janice and Lisha, First Year Students, Diploma in Arts Business Management, Ngee Ann Polytechnic. All rights reserved.

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