Bharatanatyam is an Indian classical dance form that comes from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of Shaivism and in general of Hinduism.Bharata-natyam Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007T Balasaraswati (1976), Bharata Natyam, NCPA Quarterly Journal, Volume 4, Issue 4, pages 1-8
A description of the precursors of Bharatanatyam from the Natya Shastra dates from around 500 BCE to 500 CE, while those in the ancient Tamil epic Silappatikaram date to around 171 CE. Temple sculptures of the 6th to 9th centuries CE suggest dance was a refined performance art by the mid-1st millennium CE. Sadiraattam, which was renamed Bharatanatyam in 1932, is the oldest classical dance tradition in India.
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 after the village of the guru. The 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 facial muscles. 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 that of 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).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 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 costumes. The accompanying orchestra—composed of drums, drone, and a singer—occupies the back of the stage, led by the guru, or teacher, of the dancer.
Sadiraattam remained exclusive to Tamil Hindu temples through the 19th century. It was banned by the colonial British government in 1910, but the Indian community protested against the ban and expanded its performance outside temples in the 20th century as Bharatanatyam. Modern stage productions of Bharatanatyam have become popular throughout India and include performances that are purely dance-based, featuring non-religious ideas and fusion themes. The Thanjavur Quartet developed the basic structure of modern Bharatanatyam by formalizing it.
Etymology The word Bharata is seen as a backronym, with bha standing for bhavam (feelings, emotions), ra for ragam (melody, framework for musical notes), and ta for talam (rhythm). The term Natyam is a Sanskrit word (Sanskrit: नाट्यम्) for "dance". The compound word Bharatanatyam, therefore, is understood to connote a dance that harmoniously expresses bhavam, ragam and talam. Other interpretations suggest that the name literally translates to "the dance of Bharata", from Bharata, who is reputed to be the author of the Natya Shastra, a Sanskrit text of performance arts.
In 1932, E Krishna Iyer and Rukmini Devi Arundale proposed renaming Sadiraattam (), also known as Parathaiyar Aattam or Thevarattam, as Bharatanatyam to give the dance form a measure of respect, at a meeting of the Madras Music Academy. They also were instrumental in modifying mainly the Pandanallur style of dance.
History
The theoretical foundations of the dance Bharatanatyam are found first in the Natya Shastra and later in a Tamil text called Kootha nool taken from the Tholkappiyam (250 BCE).
The first complete compilation of the Natya Shastra is dated to between 500 BCE and 200 CE, though estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE. Richmond et al. estimate the Natasutras to have been composed around 600 BCE. The most studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of about 6,000 verses structured into 36 chapters. The text, states Natalia Lidova, describes the theory of Tāṇḍava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, of bhāva, expression, gestures, acting techniques, basic steps, and standing postures—all of which are part of Indian classical dances. Dance and performance arts, states this text, are a form of expression for spiritual ideas, virtues, and the essence of scriptures.; Also see chapter 36
Historical references to dance are found in the Tamil epics Silappatikaram (c. 2nd century CE) and Manimegalai (c. 6th century CE). The ancient text Silappatikaram includes a story of a dancing girl named Madhavi; it describes the Madhavi's dance training regimen, called Arangatrau Kathai, in verses 113 through 159. The carvings in Kanchipuram's Shiva temple that have been dated to the 6th to 9th centuries CE suggest dance was a well-developed performance art by about the mid-1st millennium CE.
A famous example of illustrative sculpture is in the southern gateway of the Chidambaram temple (c. 12th century) dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, where 108 poses, described as karanas in the Natya Shastra, are carved in stone.
Bharatanatyam shares the dance poses of many ancient Shiva sculptures in Hindu temples. The image, tall, has 18 arms in a form that expresses the dance positions arranged in a geometric pattern.Alice Boner (1990), Principles of Composition in Hindu Sculpture: Cave Temple Period, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 89–95, 115–124, 174–184 The arms of Shiva express mudras (symbolic hand gestures),Fred Kleiner (2009), Gardner's Art through the Ages: Non-Western Perspectives, Wadsworth Publishing, , page 21 that are used in Bharatanatyam.Kavitha Jayakrishnan (2011), Dancing Architecture: the parallel evolution of Bharatanātyam and South Indian Architecture, MA Thesis, Awarded by University of Waterloo, Canada, pages 21-27, 46 The early 12th-century Sanskrit text Manasollasa discusses dance movements such as Natya, Tandava, Lasya, Laghu, Visama, and Vikata. This discussion is similar to the content found in Natya Shastra.
Devadasis, anti-dance movement, colonial ban, and the decline Some colonial Indologists and modern authors have argued that Bharatanatyam is a descendant of an ancient Devadasi () culture, suggesting a historical origin dating back to between 300 BCE and 300 CE. Modern scholars have questioned this theory due to a lack of any direct textual or archaeological evidence. Historical sculptures and texts do describe and project dancing girls, as well as temple quarters dedicated to women, but they do not describe them to as courtesans and prostitutes, as alleged by early colonial Indologists. According to Davesh Soneji, a critical examination of evidence suggests that courtesan dancing is a phenomenon of the modern era, beginning in the late 16th or the 17th century during the Nayaka period of Tamil Nadu. According to James Lochtefeld, classical dance remained exclusive to Hindu temples through the 19th century, appearing on stage outside temples only in the 20th century. Further, the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom patronized classical dance.
With the arrival of the East India Company in the 18th century, and British colonial rule in the 19th, classical Indian dance forms were ridiculed and discouraged, and these performance arts declined. Christian missionaries and British officials presented "nautch girls" of north India (Kathak) and "devadasis" of south India (Bharatanatyam) as evidence of a "harlots, debased erotic culture, slavery to idols and priests" tradition. The Christian missionaries demanded that this be stopped, launching the "anti-dance movement" in 1892. The anti-dance camp accused the dance form of being a front for prostitution, while revivalists questioned these constructed colonial histories.
In 1910, the Madras Presidency of the British Empire banned temple dancing, and with it the classical dance tradition in Hindu temples.
The banning of temple dancing stemmed from the 1892 anti-dance movement and new, liberal colonial perspectives. The English saw Bharatnatyam as indecent, failing to fit their idea of 19th-century modernity. Adopting a deep orientalist perspective, colonial authorities called into question the morality of people who performed Bharatanatyam. Accusations of prostitution were thrown around. Some women from traditionally performing communities were used to exemplify alleged obscenity. New reforms disregarded local issues such as artistic production for the sake of liberalism, imposing disruptive reforms that reshaped lives at all levels and subjected people to new standards. Colonial reforms were largely unsympathetic to local traditions and dismissive of the industry surrounding art production. Anglo-Indian laws imposed certain restrictions and regulations on certain expressions of sexuality—and on bodies and sex in general—which in turn affected traditional dance practices. Advocates of multiple political agendas targeting temple dancing, seeking to shape this burgeoning morality issue to suit their causes. Colonial denunciations of the practice of temple dancing were caught up in liberal ideals of bringing modernity to India, where modernity was tied to Anglo-Protestant moral ideas about how bodies are viewed and how sexuality is presented.
Post-colonial revival
The 1910 ban triggered protests against the stereotyping and dehumanization of temple dancers. The Tamil people were concerned that a historical and rich dance tradition was being victimized under the guise of social reform. Classical art revivalists such as E. Krishna Iyer, a lawyer who had learned from traditional practitioners of Sadir, questioned the cultural discrimination and the assumed connection, asking why prostitution would require years of training in the performance arts, and how killing performance arts could end any evils in society. Iyer, who was arrested and sentenced to prison on charges of nationalism, persuaded his fellow political prisoners to support Bharatanatyam while serving his prison term.
While the British colonial government enforced laws to suppress Hindu temple dances, some from the West, such as the American dancer Esther Sherman, who moved to India in 1930, learned Indian classical dances, and changed her name to Ragini Devi, joined the movement to revive Bharatanatyam and other ancient dance arts.
The Indian independence movement in the early 20th century, already in progress, became a period of cultural ferment and initiated an effort by the people to reclaim their culture and rediscover their history. In this period of cultural and political turmoil, Bharatanatyam was revived as a mainstream dance outside of Hindu temples by artists such as Rukmini Devi Arundale, Balasaraswati and Yamini Krishnamurti. They championed and performed the Pandanallur and Thanjavur styles of Bharatanatyam.