DANCE

Dance is the primeval expression of joy and wonder in any part of the world, transcending barriers of culture and development. Ancient humans were probably mimicking the movements of birds and animals in an attempt to acquire or depict their unconscious grace and freedom of form and motion. Dance as a structured entity was essentially part of the devotional process. When combined with song and story-telling, dance metamorphosed into theatre. One aspect or the other predominates in theatre and the performing arts as we recognize them today. Two category of dance are :

Classical dance: - The four originally classical dances are the Bharat Natyam, Kathak, Kathakali, and Manipuri. In 1958, Kuchipudi and Odissi joined this hallowed category. All six of these forms have their roots in the Natyashastra and the Vedas.

Bharat Natayam- It is compounded from 'bha' the emotional projection, 'Ra' for raga or melody and 'ta' for tala or rhythm, Natyam means the art of dance.It is one of the oldest Indian Classical dance forms, in essence a dedicatory dance. It was basically originated in Kerala where Devdasis performed in temples and at a lesser extent in Andhra Pradesh.

Kathakali- Krishnattam, the story of Krishna and Ramanattam the story of Ram evolved into the Kathakali - the language of gestures during the 17th century. The dance form operates on a base of 24 gestures, several of these convey different things, different meanings. Serial combinations of gestures evolve extended representational significance based on the text duly supported by hand gestures, expressive but related body movements. However, the beauty of Kathakali remarkably centres round the eye movements, its head gears, skirts, anklets, bangles and wristlets.

Kathak- The Kathak dance of North India was said to have evolved from an ancient story telling tradition .The performer narrates myths and religious poetry using subtle hand gestures and facial expressions.

Manipuri- Ras lila is the epitome of Manipuri classical dance describing the transcendental love of Krishna and Radha and Gopis as narrated in ancient Hindu scriptures. According to legends of the Meitei Tribes of Manipur, when God created earth it was lumpy.

Folk Dance:- There is really no such genre as folk dancing. Rather, there is a large body of unrelated non-classical dance forms. The only thing common among these dance forms is their rural origins.

Many folk dances are performed by ordinary people rather than professional dancers. It is very usual that on special occasions, the villagers will gather and sing and dance, accompanying themselves on a variety of folk instruments. Such special occasions include harvesting, planting, marriages and religious holidays.

MUSIC

Indian music is traced back several millennia, and has been discussed in Sanskrit theoretical treatises (shastras) for around two thousand years. Indian music tends to be the classical traditions of the north and south based on the melodic system of ragas and the rhythmic system of talas.

As regards Indian classical music in general, there are a huge number of modes (ragas). Musicians will elaborate a single mode in detail, largely through improvisation but also based on compositions and formal demands. There are also pieces (called "ragamala" or "ragamalika") in which modulations are employed. Individual pieces are shorter in Carnatic music, so recitals are constructed by selecting items in contrasting ragas.

Classical Music: - The subject of classical Indian music is rich, with its historical, cultural, aesthetic, theoretical, and performing facts. This discussion is limited to aspects of the North Indian instrumental genres.

Folk Music: - No civilizations from ancient times can boast of literature without folk lore. It was essentially oral in nature. There has been, and there is, no form or technique that can be attributed to either creating or rendering folk lore. These songs are sung by the common people to help make their work less burdensome, to complete their work in a more relaxed frame. There are the harvest songs sung by the farmers, songs sung by the workers lifting heavy weights, songs sung while crossing a river in a ferry boat, etc., Auspicious occassions like marraige, naming a child, betrothal etc., have their share of songs to suit the different occassions, usually sung in chorus by the womenfolk.