Briefly about Bharata Natyam

  Bharata Natyam- the classical Indian dance form originated from temple dance in South India.

Name Bharata Natyam was given to the art form in the first half of 20 century by E Krishna Iyer. Bharatanatyam comes from the words Bhava (Expression), Raga (Music), Tala (Rhythm) and Natya (Classic Indian Musical Theatre). Another but less popular explanations is that Bharata stands for:

1)Bharata Varsha- ancient name of India.

2) Bharata Muni- the author of Natya Shastra (the earliest treatise on dance and music). Bharata is also the  term which denotes any artist.

Traditional roots

  In ancient times it was performed as "dasiattam" by mandir (Hindu temple) Devadasis.  In the most essential sense, a Hindu deity is a revered royal guest in his temple/abode, to be offered the "sixteen hospitalities" - among which are music and dance, pleasing to the senses. Thus, many Hindu temples traditionally maintained complements of trained musicians and dancers, as did Indian rulers.

  The center of most arts in India is Bhakti (devotion) and therefore, Bharata Natyam as a dance form and carnatic music set to it are deeply grounded in Bhakti. Bharata Natyam, it is said, is the embodiment of music in visual form, a ceremony, and an act of devotion. Dance and music are inseparable forms; only with Sangeetam (words or syllables set to raga or melody) can dance be conceptualized.  

It is believed that Bharatanatyam is mainly a renewal of Sadir, the ancient art of temple dancers.This dance form denotes various 19th and 20th century reconstructions of Sadir, the art of temple dancers from ancient dance forms.

Modern rebirth

  E. Krishna Iyer was one of those who raised the social status of Bharatanatyam and greatly popularized it. Rukmini Devi Arundale was instrumental in bringing it to the attention of the West. Having studied the Pandanallur style for three years, in 1936 Rukmini Devi Arundale founded the Kalakshetra school outside the city of Madras to teach her own, Kalakshetra, style of Bharatanatyam, and to promote other studies in Indian music and art. She was one of first teachers to instruct a few men to perform the dance. She introduced group performances and staged various Bharatanatyam-based ballets.

Rukmini Devi states: “My intention was that dance, now abolished in the temple, should create the templestage” atmosphere on the stage"

According to Shri Sankara Menon, Rukmini Devi raised Bharatanatyam to a puritan art form, divorced from its recently controversial past by "removing objectionable elements" (mostly, the Sringara, certain emotional elements evocative of the erotic, such as hip, neck, lip and chest movements) from the Pandanallur style, which was publicly criticized by Balasaraswati and other representatives of the traditional devadasi culture. Not all love was portrayed, at least outside parameters considered "chaste". Balasaraswati said that "the effort to purify Bharatanatyam through the introduction of novel ideas is like putting a gloss on burnished gold or painting the lotus". E .Krishna Iyer said about Rukmini Devi, “There is no need to say that before she entered the field, the art was dead and gone or that it saw a renaissance only when she started to dance or that she created anything new that was not there before”.

The development of the Bharatnatyam dance form has therefore been surrounded by controversy as some including Ashish Khokar the Indian dance historian have seen it as a means by which many women, often Brahmin women, have appropriated certain Devadasi traditions while disassociating themselves with other aspects of the contemporary devadasis' practices. The dance, at that time, was exclusively performed by women, while men, called Nattuvanars, had only been teaching Bharatanatyam without actually performing it. It is worth noticing that most of the contemporary Bharatanatyam dancers do not satisfy the criteria for a professional danseuse stated in the scriptures.

At present, Bharatanatyam recitals are usually not performed inside the temple shrine but outside it, and even outside the temple compounds at various festivals. Most contemporary performances are given on the stage with a live ensemble.

Learning Bharatanatyam normally takes many years before the arangetram (debut). There are academic and commercialized dance institutes in many countries. Many people choose to learn Carnatic music along with Bharatanatyam as they go together.

Preface

 

“The awareness is expressed through creation.

This world we live in is a dance of the creator.

The dancers appear and disappear

at a glance

but the dance is still living.

On many occasions when I’m dancing,

I am touched by something sacred.

In these moments I feel my spirit is raised and

become one with all there is.

I become the winner and the subjugated,

I become the master and slave,

I become the singer and song,

I become the expert and the known.

Still dancing and then this is

the eternal dance of creation.

The creator and creation merge

in one of joy.

Still dancing …and dancing …and dancing,

… until there is only the dance. ”

-Michael Jackson

  Every artistic endeavour of man is a symbol to communicate the deep feelings and emotions that are beyond ordinary speech. Thus, art is purely communication at the deepest and most lasting level.  Expressing oneself through art is revealing a secret that cannot be expressed through words. People mostly use only 10% of their brain. And communicating through art engages that part of the brain which is usually not being used.

  Ultimately it is Divine love that is being expressed, and the art leads the viewer to connect directly with that ultimate reality. Bhakti-yoga (devotion) is  essentially the yoga of emotion, and transcendental art is a panacea for this age, in which few people can read and few of those who do read can understand. But the art will communicate even with the illiterate, and once seen, these images become fixed in the brain.

  Art leads us to universal in physical materials. Ksemaraja in his Sivasutra Vimarsini says kalayati swaswarupaveshena tadtad vastu parichhinatti iti kalavyapara. “The artist at the place of an object creates a manifestation of the form of his own soul”.  Isadora Duncan expressed the same idea: "The dancer's body is simply the luminous manifestation of the soul."In the Kausitaki Brahmana, kala (art) is defined as kam nama sukham lati iti kala. (Kau. Br. 29.5), that which gives happiness - Ananda.

  For me dance is a spiritual search. Search for something or someone I lost once. As Sa’adi, a 13^th century Sufi philosopher and poet said: “The dance opens a door in the soul to divine influence…. The dance is good when it arises from the rememberance of the Beloved. Then each waving sleeve has a soul in it”.   

  Art is a powerful tool to realize divine presence. Truth is beauty and beauty is truth. And “That which is not beautiful in its effect cannot be real beauty” (Hazrat inayat khan). And this is exactly what Bharata Natyam is. Pure beauty and hence pure truth. It is not pretencious. It is purified to such extend that there is nothing else to take away and that makes it very readable. In pure dance of Bharata Natyam we always use the shortcut. When hand has to go from one point to another we make it in the shortest way. No unnecessary movements are made. Being in contemporary dance company the most important thing  I learnt from my choreographer is to do less for “less is more”. She always says to us “don’t hide behind the movements”. Stillness is something that many dancers fear to embrace. I like what Antoine de Saint-Exupery said in this regard:

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

Bharata Natyam is not about high legs or 1 million movements in 1 minute. It is about reaching out to the spectator, touching his heart. Like VP Dhananjayan said: "All display of talents do not become an object of art; the talent that touches the hearts of onlookers and listeners only can be called an art, be it music, painting, sculpture or dance". All the tricks what we can see nowadays in the dance world can excite you but when you come home after the show you will be left with nothing. Because in the west dance is entertainment. In ancient India it was first of all ritual and meditation. It is search for inner harmony. Bharata Natyam is an entertainment that doesn’t excite you, on the other hand, that brings you peace of mind. It has as its goal to elevate a spectator, to awaken the Divine emotions in him. Pina Bausch reflected this idea really good: "I’m not interested in how people move; I’m interested in what makes them move." 

  The spiritual approach to the art means just to be in tune with it. Just to make art state of your being. Therefore spiritual man doesn’t bother a lot about the mastery level of his art. Because besides art that we create there is also influence of prana, psychical force, which is put into art by the artist. So it is not so much about what you do, it is about who you are. And practice makes it perfect anyways. Of course, the better art is whether it is music, dance etc., the more wholesome it is for the spiritual man. But at the same time let’s not forget that in Tibet there are Lamas, who spend their meditations accompanied by sort of rattle and it has not very melodic sound. Or dance of whirling Dervishes is nothing sophisticated but at the same time very deep- with the right palm raised up they receive light from heaven and with left palm pour it down to earth. In Christianity Saint Augustin confessed to the Lord for he more enjoyed singing in the temple than the content of the singing. I am not trying to preach not to strive for perfection but just to make a point that it is not the thing that makes your art true.

Majority of materials in this compilation are taken from internet, books on Bharat Natyam, with addition of personal notes.

I do not claim to know everything about Bharata Natyam. They say that one has to spend 11 lives in order to master this art. So I am just in the very beginning of the road. But I already have something to share. And this work is meant first of all to piece together for me what I have learnt during these years. I guess this kind of manual is exactly what I missed when I started to dance because Bharata Natyam for me was something highly magical but also a big puzzle at the same time. So I decided to systematize the outcome of my research in order to continue learning new things. And here it is!