The Art Form – Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam is a classical dance form of India that uses geometric movement, rhythmic footwork, codified hand gestures, and subtle facial expressions to create vibrant dances and tell colorful stories. Based on the historic Natya Shastra, a 3000-year-old treatise on Indian performance art, Bharatanatyam is rooted in a movement and expressional technique that serves to bring about rasa, a shared uplifting emotion experienced by both the performer and audience.
TRADITIONAL & CONTEMPORARY
The traditional repertoire evokes the beauty and spirituality that pervades India. Through pure dance sequences and lyrical items that commonly interpret stories from Indian and Hindu poetry and epic literature, a solo dancer delivers a recital of dynamism and nuance. Classical Carnatic music compositions usually provide the framework and accompaniment to these pieces.
At the same time, Bharatanatyam’s tremendously rich vocabulary of movement and expression lends itself to infinite new applications and an ever-growing contemporary repertoire. This comprehensive dance form can further explore artistic dimensions, such as music genre, thematic content, choreographic structure, and intended audiences, as it takes on new life with each practitioner.