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.