Bharatnatyam: The Format and Components

Bharatnatyam is a unique art form which involves the movement of different parts in a very artistic as well as elegant manner. It is known to be the one of most widely practiced Indian classical dances in southern india. This is mainly because Bharatanatyam originates from Tamil Nadu. The term ‘Bharatnatyam’ was introduced by S. Krishna Iyer, and then later spread by Rukmini Devi Arundale. The art form comprises Bhava, Raga, Tala, and Natya. All of these four components put together create Bharatnatyam.

It is written in the Natya Shastra that, “when the world had become steeped in greed and desire, in jealousy and anger, in pleasure and pain, the Supreme one (Brahma) was asked by the people to create an entertainment which could be seen and heard by all, for the scriptures were not enjoyed by the masses, being too learned and ambiguous.” The Natya Shastra is very important during the Kali Yuga period. The Kali Yuga is the age of destruction of the world. The creation of Natyashastra was and is a very holy and sacred book.

The term ‘Bharatnatyam’ in the modern world, means and identifies a particular form or style of dance. In the past, Bharatnatyam was known to be a system of dance. This is written in the Natyashastra, “Bharatnatyam is capable of manifesting various forms”. There are slightly similar but distinct art forms which conform to the system of Bharatnatyam. They are written below.

Sadir Natyam – This is a solo dance form which has been being performed for centuries. This art form used to be performed by devdasis in temples and eventually in the royal courts in south India, most commonly in Tamil Nadu.

Bhagavatha Melam – This art form is usually performed in a group. It is a dance drama which originates from Tamil Nadu. In this art form, all of the roles are performed by men and the themes are usually based on mythology.

Kuravanji – This is a group dance which is performed specifically by women. This art form is based on interpreting literary and poetic compositions usually written on the theme of love.

Kuchipudi – Kuchipudi is a common dance form which originates from Andhra Pradesh. This is a group performance, and all the roles used to be performed by men. The themes are usually based on mythology. In today’s world the art form is performed by both genders and the themes have expanded to other aspects such as love.

There are multiple art forms which originate from India. A few of them include Manipuri, Mohini Attam, Yakshagana, and Kathakali. These art forms are also considered as variations from the system of Bharatnatyam, but are not as ‘firmly rooted’ in it.

It is common practice before dance practice or performance, to make obeisance to god, the earth, as well as the guru. This is a tradition which has been followed for many years, and is still done to this day. The vadana or namaskaram is a ritual in which the dancer bows before beginning her dance. At a performance this is done backstage. The first performance usually taught or done on stage is pushpanjali. Pushpanjali is the offering of flowers to god, as another form of obeisance. Though most people consider pushpanjali to be a dance and make a performance out of it, it’s not a traditional dance item and definitely not the same or a substitute for alarippu.

Performances after the varanam, usually do not follow a specific order. It is up to the dancer to choose between different dances. For example, not all recitals have one padam, ashtapadi, kirtanam, and javali. These items are optional but it is common for the dancer to perform two or three of the dances mentioned above. In my arangetram, I performed a padam and a javali. The recital is completed either with a shlokam or mangalam. The dancer performs one of the two dances. I performed a mangalam to end my performance.

Next, I will describe each type of item from the margam briefly.

Alarippu

The first item performed in a recital is the alarippu. This a short and simple item but significant as it is performed as a ritual dance prelude. The primary reason the dance is performed is because the intention is to invoke the blessings of god as well as offer homage to the audience. It also is meant to sanctify the body of the dance as well as the performance space.

The connotation of the name or word alarippu is flowering and suggests the opening of the body in limbs for the dance item which will be performed. The dance features a progression of movements, as it begins with the head and eye movements. The pattern follows until it involves more and more of the body. As the art form proceeds, the dancer begins taking more performance space. This dance is accompanied by the sollukattu, “tat-tai-tam dhit-tai-tam” as well as the precision in slow, medium and fast tempos. The alarippu typically lasts for about three to five minutes.

Jatiswaram

Jatiswaram is usually performed as the second or third item. This dance is also of nritta but much more complex. The dance is a combination of different rhythmic sequences of movements, which are put into different groupings (jatis). It is performed to ‘swara passages’ in a particular raga or a melodic scale and tala. This is all accompanied by musical instruments. The name jatiswaram is derived from the two elements (jati and swara). At the beginning of the dance there are teermanams which are accompanied by the sollukattu, but the rest of the item is performed to swaras.

The purpose of this dance is to create different beautiful forms, purely for artistic pleasure. There is no mood or sentiment expressed throughout the item. There are a few choreographic features which are typical to the dance. For example, an elegant gait to each side of the stage is very common and almost a part of every jatiswaram.

Shabdam

As the performance progresses, the third item, shabdam, introduces the audience to abhinaya also known as expressive dance. The music which accompanies this dance includes lyrics. In a shabdam the lyrics are usually in praise of a deity, a guru, or patron. The song could also be affectionate, devotionale, or have a narrative and describe the qualities, accomplishments or deeds of the subject. The dancer interprets the song and performs it.

The sahitya in a shabdam is relatively simple. There are usually two to five stanzas of poetry, with few associated korvais of dance. Each subsequent koravai usually adds more detail on the same theme. In a shabdam there is usually more detail in the poetry, more movements as well as deeper expression of emotions. Usually, the final verse is repeated twice to signify the end of the item. The stanzas in the item usually end with words of salutation or obeisance, for example “salaamure” or “namostute”. The shabdam compositions usually use Misra Chapu tala and a raaga known as Kambhoji. Most of them are in praise of lord krishna.

Varnam

The main dance in the Bharatanatyam recital is the varanam. This is because the varnam is composed of abstract as well as expressive aspects. The dance builds on the rhythmic, melodic, and lyrical aspects of the music. The structure of the dance is very similar to the musical compositions which are also called varnams. The dance usually alternates between passages of nritta and nritya, or in other words, balancing pure dance and expressive dance. Both of these movements are combined and create the final dance. The dancer interprets the music and poetry with great understanding in both nritta and nritya passages.

In almost each line of the song, there is a teermanam. These teermanams are in various tempos and are executed by the sollukattu, nritta passages which are performed to swara sequences, abhinaya patterns that expound upon the sahitya of the line. The nritta passages often build on the rhythm of the musical composition and complement the melody. The abhinaya features in the dance express the transient inner feelings, poetry in dance which expands the poetic theme of the music. As the item progresses, the complexity of the teermanams and abhinaya increases. This is to show the skill, versatility, and stamina of the dancer. Lastly, when all these aspects are combined, the dancer synchronizes the rhythmic footwork of the adavus, jatis, hand gestures, facial expression showing the meaning of the song.

Most varnams have a duration of 45 minutes to more than 1 hour. Since, this dance is a strenuous item, the following dances usually are purely expressive and aren't as physically demanding. An intermission, costume change, or break usually occurs right after the varanam.

Padam

This padam is known to be the deepest expressive dance. This item is a purely expressional piece and doesn’t include nritta. It is usually full of expressions steeped with sentiments of love and its various manifestations. The padam is usually performed on a love poem with the dancer taking the role of the devotee or heroine. Traditionally the symbolism is that the nayaka or heroine is representing the human soul longing for the supreme being represented by her beloved or nayakaa. The typical narrative is for the nayika addressing her friend or someone else about her love for the nayaka. The songs are usually about the pain of separation, love quarrels, feelings brought on by a dream, and so on. The songs that are used for the item broad scope expression for varying shades of emotion. They also feature ragas that match the sentiment of the theme.

Ashtapadi

An ashtapadi is similar to a padam as it is also an expressive item. The difference is that an Ashtapadi is executed particularly to a poem. Ashtapadi in Sanskrit means “eight steps”. “Asta” meaning “eight'' and “padi” meaning “steps”. The reason for this is because it refers to musical compositions with eight lines, but in the context of Bharatnatyam it refers to the 12th century compositions by the honorable Indian poet Jayadeva. His poetry is usually about the relationship between Gita and Govinda. He uses the relationship of gopis (cowgirls) and Lord Krishna to symbolize eternal love between a devotee and the divine. His poetry is expressed through abhinaya.

Kirtanam

Kirtanam is also another expressive Bharatanatyam item. This item is characterized by the devotional mood that it evokes. Keerthanams are performed on songs which describe the virtues and acts of god(s). They also use devotional songs which are composed by great saints. The lyrics are usually in praise of a deity and are also usually medium tempo items. They include abstract dance elements for interest.

Javali

The javali, once again an expressive number, is often performed on a song with colloquial lyrics and relatively faster tempos. The item usually features the nayika addressing the divine or beloved from a human level. The symbolism is not as refined as it is in a padam and the specific types of nayikas featured in a javali differ.

Tillana

Thillana is a lively item which is of pure nritta. It is performed to music which shares the same name. The specialized rhythmic syllables are sung to the melody, and are repeated by the vocalist, while the dancer presents an elaboration of the music. The passage begins with graceful body movements which showcase adavu sequences and are executed in two or three tempos, culminating to become teermanams. The dance number embodies the lasya or the lyrical aspect of nritta through its alluring poses and exquisite pattern of movement. The movements in thillana are joyous and have a vivacious quality to them. “If the alarippu is the opening of the flower, the thillana is the showering of flowers”. At the end of the item there is usually a small sequence of nritya in which the dancer expresses dedication to a deity or guru.

Slokam

The slokam is known to be the traditional end to a recital. The slokam also known as the orviruttam is the singing of lyrics which are not set to a rhythmic pattern similar to a song. The dancer interprets the slokam while the singer improvises. The dancer uses various expressions and gestures in order to bring out the meaning of the song while the music establishes the mood. The slokam usually has a devotional tone and concludes the recital with leaving the audience with feelings of serenity and gratitude.

Mangalam

Managlam is another recital which the dancer also performs to end the event. It is a short benediction in which the dancer performs the namaskar and gives thanks to the audiences. It is a short performance to invoke blessing and thankfulness. This dance number is usually around one or two minutes in duration. The music which the dancer is performing on is usually an auspicious raga, typically Madhyamavathi.

Basic Features

There are three main aspects of Bharatnatyam, similar to any other dance form. They are movement, costume, and lastly music. In other words, it is what the dancer is doing, looking, and the accompanying sounds. When all the three aspects are put together, they create the foundation of Bharatnatyam.

Movement

There are two main types of movements in Bharatanatyam, they are abstract and expressive. The abstract movements show rhythm, create beauty and provide decoration. The abstract movements have no other purpose except movement itself. The expressive movements, on the other hand, convey feelings, emotions, and meaning. They do this through a vocabulary of postures, hand gestures and facial expressions. The purpose of this is to portray a theme or feeling and transmit an essence or experience to the audience.

The movements of Bharatanatyam are unique. Though the art form shares elements with other Indian classical dances, it isn't found in any western dance style. Bharatnatyam is often described as geometric, due to the geometric positions in the basic postures and movements of which the dance is built. This also makes Bharatnatyam sound static, but it isn’t. While Bharatanatyam is known to be dynamic and energetic, it is also precise and balanced. The basic postures in Bharatnatyam aim to center the weight of the dancer, making sure there is little use of the hips or off-balance positions. Bharatanatyam has a variety of characteristic movements including rhythmic stamping of the feet, jumps, pirouettes, and positions where the knees touch the floor. Most of the positions are executed with knees bent and turned outward. Performed by experienced or learning dancers, these movements flow together gracefully. One of the exceptional features of Bharatanatyam is the movements of the eyes, known as ‘Drishti Bhedha’ which complement and highlight the movements of the body. Every part of the body is involved in the dance, and the movements are defined and classified. All of the elements contribute to the unique and beautiful style of Bharatanatyam.

Costume

Bharatanatyam costumes for women are similar to traditional Indian saris, but are modified for the dance. Even though they are quite similar to saris, bharatanatyam costumes are not single pieces of cloth, but instead combinations of a number of individually stitched pieces. This not only makes them easier to wear, but also makes it easier to dance in compared to a sari. The costumes involve pleated silk fabric at the waist then fan out elegantly during various movements. The costumes are bright and colorful. The costumes follow the sari tradition, the use of contrasting border colors. The borders of the various pieces form patterns that decorate the dancer’s form.

One of the essential items in the Bharatanatyam costume is the pair of anklets which are also known as ankle bells (salangai in Tamil, ghungroo in Hindi). The main objective of the ankle bells are to make the rhythmic footwork of the dance audible. “Dancers treat their salangai like artists treat their canvases” (in India, that is). The ghungroos are blessed by the dancer’s guru, they are worshiped on special occasions, and are not worn casually.

Female bharatanatyam costumes majorly consist of jewelry, including bangles, rings, earrings, nose rings, and special ornaments for the arms and head.

Along with the elaborate costumes there is, of course, makeup for the dance. Bharatanatyam makeup has a few unique characteristics. Heavy black lines are drawn around the eyes, extending outwards past the eyes, using kajal or modern day eyeliner. The eyebrows are also darkened and extended outwards with liner. The purpose of this makeup is to accentuate the facial movements, especially of the eyes and eyebrows. Making them more visible, because they are an essential or significant part of the dance, especially for expression. A red dye is applied to the soles of the feet, the tips of the toes, as well as to the fingertips. As well as the toes and fingertips, it is also painted in a circle in the palm of each hand. This unique embellishment serves to emphasize the movements of the hands and feet.

The costumes of men are much simpler compared to the costumes of women. A dhoti is usually worn covering the lower body and there is no upper garment. The men also wear ankle bells or salangai like women. They wear much less jewelry than women. Men also apply the same makeup to the eyes as women, since it serves an important purpose in the dance, but not to the hands and feet.

The Bharatanatyam costume is intended to look beautiful. It is the dress worn to dance for gods in temples, or for kings in palaces. When a dancer enters, the costume suggests that it is a special occasion.

Music

Bharatanatyam is accompanied by Carnatic music that has been specialized for Bharatnatyam dance. The music is specialized in a few ways.

In a classical Indian dance performance, especially Bharatnatyam, the musicians must focus on accompaniment and support the dancer. Excessive ornamentation and improvisation in the music distracts from the dance. Improvisation is often left to the dancer, in particular sections of items. The musicians must be ready to take cues from the dancer if they need to make impromptu adjustments.

The range of tempos in the music is limited to what the dancer is comfortable with. The percussionists must also play so that they emphasize the beats that are important to the dancer, and avoid additional demonstrations that don’t support the dancer.

The musical group for a dance performance includes someone playing nattuvangam, that is, calling out rhythmic syllables that denote dance movements, this is usually done by the teacher or the student's guru. They are also required to strike cymbals on particular beats as cues to the dancer. This skill usually only belongs to dancers and dance teachers, and rarely to concert musicians.

Bharatanatyam goes hand in hand with Carnatic music. There are many dance items, like the padam, varnam, kirtanam, and tillana, which share their names with musical items that have the same or similar structure. The thematic content of the music and dance are the same. This is natural, as both art forms have South Indian origins.

Music that is composed for dance items typically makes use of rhythmic patterns known as talas and melodies known as ragas, that suit the theme of the dance. The collaboration between the music and dance is important in delivering an experience of the theme to the audience. The expressive power of Carnatic music is such that often the music itself can move the audience. Depending on how you perceive it, this either frees the dancer of the responsibility to deliver a strong performance, or challenges the dancer to do justice to the music.

Nritta, Nritya, Natya

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

Nritya: This is interpretive dance, which uses facial expressions, hand gestures, and body movements in order to portray emotions and express different themes.

Natya: Natya is the dramatic aspect of a stage performance. It includes spoken dialogue as well as mime to convey meaning and enact the narrative.

Despite the rare overlap between natya and nritya, they differ. Natya doesn’t include dance, while nritya does not include speech. While Bharatanatyam does include the mimetic and narrative aspects of natya, it doesn’t use spoken dialogue. The definitions of terms like nritta, nritya, and natya are not needed to be scrutinized or observed by a spectator during a performance, but it’s good to know that these elements are some of the features of dance. In different Bharatanatyam items, the balance between nritta, natya, and nritya varies. Overall, the dominant aspect of Bharatanatyam is nritya.

One way to understand whether a dancer is performing nritta or nritya is by the music. The music for passages of pure nritta does not have any lyrics. The names of rhythmic beats are spoken and the words of musical notes are sung. For interpretive dance with nritya and natya components, lyrics with meaning are sung, while the dance expresses the sentiment or the meaning of the lyrics. Another way to identify the difference between nritta and nritya is by the facial expressions of the dancer. Nritta is usually done with a smile and eye movements, but the face maintains a stable emotion. In nritya, various expressions are portrayed on the dancer’s face, showing different emotions. All the parts of the face are usually active in displaying the emotions. There are Bharatanatyam dances that are entirely abstract, and some that are entirely interpretive, but most of them include elements of both nritta and nritya.

Dance Vocabulary of Bharatanatyam

Bharatanatyam has a rich language of expression. Both nritta and nritya are portrayed by various combinations of movements and positions involving the limbs, feet, and body, along with facial expressions and hand gestures. These elements are well defined, and create a vocabulary that characterizes Bharatanatyam. Natya is achieved through portrayal of characters and various themes, which are also described in scriptures.

Scriptures like the Natya Shastra and Abhinaya Darpana classify the elements of dance in great detail and in large arrays. The basics of dance in Bharatanatyam is the adavu. Each adavu is a combination of steps or positions with coordinated movements of the feet, legs, hands, arms, torso, head, as well as the eyes. Adavus give Bharatanatyam its unique and distinctive look. For example, many adavus are executed with the legs bent, knees outward, heels together and toes outward – a position which is called araimandi. The adavus, numbering around 120 in all, are divided into multiple groups and subgroups. A few of the adavus are accompanied by rhythmic syllables, or sollukattu, that put together the steps of the adavu in a time sequence or meter. Sollukattu, which means spoken (sol) structure (kattu) in Tamil, is a verbal description of an arrangement of beats or steps. For example, the phrase, “thai-yum-that-that thai-yum-tha” is the sollukattu for the adavu named Nattadavu. Various sollukattu have phrases like “thai-ya-thai-yi”, “tadhing-gina-thom”, and “kita-thaka-thari-kita-thom”. If you see a Bharatanatyam class, you’ll hear many similar phrases being called out by the teacher as the students practice adavus.

The hand gestures in Bharatanatyam are called hastas. They are also called mudras, or hasta mudras. There are two types of hastas one-handed and two-handed hastas. All of the hastas have different names. When a hasta is used in a specific context for a specific purpose, it gets a special name for that use. For example, the Tripataka hasta is a gesture in which the hand and fingers are held flat, with only the ring finger bent at the knuckle so that it is perpendicular to the palm. This is also the position of the hands in Nattadavu. This hasta is called Tripataka or Tripataka hasta. When it is used in nritya to show fire, or to portray a tree, it is still called Tripataka hasta, but when it is used to denote Vishnu, it is sometimes called Vishnu hasta. When the hastas are used to denote deities, celestial bodies (for example the nine planets), or relations, their names are often changed according to the application. All the hastas are used in nritya, but only a subset of them are used in nritta. During nritta, the hastas do not convey any meaning. They are just purely decorative. In nritya, the hastas are an essential aspect of the expressive language of the dance. They do not only describe things and objects, but also express concepts like truth, beauty, or the passage of time. They depict thoughts, words, and actions, and which are combined with facial expressions to show emotions. The same hastas, used with different arm movements or in a different context, can have a different meaning. Most of the hastas have multiple and various uses.

The facial expressions in Bharatanatyam are called abhinaya. The dancer uses facial expressions to show emotions. The emotions sometimes come from the poetry in the music, or belong to a character which is being portrayed. The expressive aspect of the art form is the means by which the dancer can communicate an inner experience to the audience. The emotions which are shown by the dancer create a response in the audience, an experience of feeling or sentiment. Bharatanatyam scriptures have organized the process by categorizing the different types of aesthetic emotions and which sediment is produced. Each sentiment is associated with its causes, consequences, and passing feelings, all in the presence of a dominant emotion. The dancer enacts many passing feelings while performing (called sanchari bhava) to show the effects (called anubhava) which are produced by the causes (called vibhava) of the emotional state, and lastly to reveal the fullness of the dominant emotion (called sthayi bhava). An example is, to describe a main emotion of love, the dancer would portray various transitory feelings such as impatience, weakness, excitement, anxiety, and so on, to suggest the longing for one’s beloved. In Bharatanatyam, there are nine main emotions:

• shringara (love, eros)

• vira (valor, heroism)

• karuna (sadness)

• adbhuta (awe, amazement)

• raudra (fury)

• hasya(laughter, humor)

• bhayanaka (fear)

• bibhatsa (revulsion)

• shanta (peace)

There are many other countless passing feelings that are enacted. The portrayal of feelings in abhinaya is stylized rather than literal. For example, to illustrate sadness through describing the flow of tears, a Bharatanatyam dancer doesn’t actually shed tears, but instead indicates the flow of tears using hand gestures combined with facial expressions.

In addition to the fundamental emotions, which are categorized in the Natya Shastra and other scriptures, the vocabulary of Bharatanatyam has a variety of characters, and associated qualities, that are used to develop themes. The nayika or heroine, the nayaka or hero, and the sakhi or friend, are a few examples of such characters. In the Natya Shastra lists there are eight types of nayikas based on their emotional circumstances. There are also categorizations like the ten graces of women, the ten stages of love, and so on. Characters are also sometimes classified according to their stature, asuttama (noble, divine), madhyama (human), and adhama (base), as well as according to their moral disposition, as swakiya (faithful wife), parakiya (married but longs for another), and samanya (courtesan). The qualities of characters influence which emotions they experience, and they modify the emotions they experience to determine their responses to different circumstances.

Adavus and hastas are the foundation of nritta. Adavus and the full range of hastas, combined with abhinaya, make up nritya. The use of abhinaya as well as character provides the dramatic element, also known as natya. Though this is a simplistic explanation, it illustrates the depth of the Bharatanatyam vocabulary. Each basic element in the list has a deep meaning in its own right.

The abstract movements of nritta create various rhythmic patterns, shapes, and forms in coordination with music. The movements and music complement each other, together displaying the beauty of the dynamic abstract form. As I mentioned earlier, you can recognize nritta when the singer sings the names of notes or the nattuvanar calls out rhythmic syllables. Of course, for this you need to be able to recognize the solfa syllables of the notes, or the syllables that denote beats.

Rhythmic Structure

In Carnatic music, the rhythmical structure of a composition consists of patterns called talas. The most similar concept to tala in Western music is meter, but it’s not exactly the same. A repeated cycle of tala consists of equally spaced beats, which are grouped into combinations of three patterns. The three patterns are the laghu, dhrutam, and anudhrutam. If you watch people keeping time at an Indian classical music or dance recital, the specific way they mark beats is by tapping their laps with their fingers, palm, and back of the hand. The beats are determined by these patterns of the tala.