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| Native name | பரதநாட்டியம் (Tamil) |
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| Etymology | Portmanteau of the Tamil words bhavam (expression), ragam (melody), thalam (rhythm), and natyam (dance) |
| Genre | Indian classical dance |
| Origin | Tamil Nadu, India |
| Part of a series on |
| Hinduism |
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Bharatanatyam (Tamil: பரதநாட்டியம்) is an Indian classical dance form that originated in Tamil Nadu, India.[1][2] It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism.[3][4][5]
A description of precursors of Bharatanatyam from the Natya Shastra dated around (500 BCE)[6][7] and in the ancient Tamil epic Silappatikaram dated around (171 CE),[8][9] while temple sculptures of the 6th to 9th century CE suggest dance was a refined performance art by the mid-1st millennium CE.[10][11] Sadiraattam, which was renamed Bharatanatyam in 1932, is the oldest classical dance tradition in India.[12] Bharatanatyam is the state dance form of Tamil Nadu.
Bharatanatyam contains different types of bani. Bani, or "tradition", is a term used to describe the dance technique and style specific to a guru or school, often named for the village of the guru. Bharatanatyam style is noted for its fixed upper torso, bent legs, and flexed knees (Aramandi) combined with footwork, and a vocabulary of sign language based on gestures of hands, eyes, and face muscles.[11] The dance is accompanied by music and a singer, and typically the dancer's guru is present as the nattuvanar or director-conductor of the performance and art. The performance repertoire of Bharatanatyam, like other classical dances, includes nrita (pure dance), nritya (Conveys a meaning to the audience through hand gestures) and natya (Consists of the elements of drama).[13][14] A program of bharatanatyam usually lasts two hours without interruption and includes a specific list of procedures, all performed by one dancer, who does not leave the stage or change costume. The accompanying orchestra—composed of drums, drone, and singer—occupies the back of the stage, led by the guru, or the teacher, of the dancer.
Sadiraattam remained exclusive to Hindu temples through the 19th century.[11] It was banned by the colonial British government in 1910,[15] but the Indian community protested against the ban and expanded its performance outside temples in the 20th century as Bharatanatyam.[11][15][16] Modern stage productions of Bharatanatyam have become popular throughout India and include performances that are purely dance-based on non-religious ideas and fusion themes.[10][11] The Thanjavur Quartet developed the basic structure of modern Bharatanatyam by formalizing it.[17]
- ^ Franco, Susanne; Nordera, Marina (29 April 2016). Dance Discourses: Keywords in Dance Research. Routledge. p. 202. ISBN 978-1-134-94712-6.
- ^ Planet, Lonely; Benanav, Michael; Bindloss, Joe; Brown, Lindsay; Butler, Stuart; Elliott, Mark; Harding, Paul; Holden, Trent; Mahapatra, Anirban (1 October 2019). Lonely Planet India. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-78868-682-2.
- ^ Bharata-natyam Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007
- ^ Richard Schechner (2010). Between Theater and Anthropology. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 65–66. ISBN 978-0-8122-0092-8.
- ^ T Balasaraswati (1976), Bharata Natyam, NCPA Quarterly Journal, Volume 4, Issue 4, pages 1-8
- ^ Natalia Lidova 1994, pp. 111–113.
- ^ Richmond, Swann & Zarrilli 1993, p. 30.
- ^ Dikshitar 1939, pp. 11–18.
- ^ Danielou 1965, p. ix.
- ^ a b Khokar, Mohan (1984). Traditions of Indian Classical Dance. India: Clarion Books. pp. 73–76.
- ^ a b c d e James G. Lochtefeld (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M. The Rosen Publishing Group. pp. 103–104. ISBN 978-0-8239-3179-8.
- ^ Richard Schechner (2010). Between Theater and Anthropology. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-0812279290.
- ^ Peter J. Claus; Sarah Diamond; Margaret Ann Mills (2003). South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-415-93919-5.
- ^ Kavitha Jayakrishnan (2011), Dancing Architecture: the parallel evolution of Bharatanātyam and South Indian Architecture, MA Thesis, Awarded by University of Waterloo, Canada, page 25
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
pallabinilan30was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Janet O'Shea (2007). At Home in the World: Bharata Natyam on the Global Stage. Wesleyan University Press. pp. 26–38, 55–57, 83–87. ISBN 978-0-8195-6837-3.
- ^ Mahotsav, Amrit. "'Tanjore Quartet' and the birth of modern-day Bharatanatyam". Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Retrieved 20 July 2022.