Elements of storytelling and music are included, along with information about the cultural influences and history of Kathak. ABOUT KATHAK AND CHHANDIKA INSTITUTE OF KATHAK DANCE. Kathak is among the eight major classical dances of India. The word Kathak is derived from kathak meaning “the art of storytelling.”. Aug 16, 2018 - At Battery Dance Festival, a program devoted to the northern Indian form. More than enough diversity and beauty to match the background.
What is Kathak? The expression ‘Kathak’ has its origin in the word ‘Katha’, which literally means a story. Story-tellers or the recounters are the people, who narrate various tales from fables, mythology and epics and have the base of their story-narration on legends from Hindu Puranas. It has its foundation in an oral narration. To make this narration more effective, there is a possibility that characters and Mudras (particular gestures of hands and / or face) might have been an addition of the later period.
In this way, a narrative dance from came into existence, which also makes us aware about the development of the dance form of the current ‘Kathak’. Vaishnavism that was dominant in the 15 th century in the northern India has principally contributed in the new introduction of worship through rhythm and music. It became more popular with the themes of Radha-Krishna, Meerabai-Krishana by Soordas, Nanddas and Krishnadas. The derivation of Raas Leela in Brij Bhoomi (In Mathura in western Uttar Pradesh) was a key feature of this growth. It was an implementation of music and dance in itself.
In Raas Leela, the dance was an expansion of the role of the character, which is a fine blend of current day traditional dance form. History of Kathak In the advent of Mughal era, this dance form has had an inspiration in royal courts. It made the travel of the dance from the temples to the royal palaces, which itself was a transformation that caused an unavoidable turn in its presentation. In both Hindu and Muslim royal courts, the dance form of ‘Kathak’ had received a great praise.
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It thus developed as a superior unification of entertainment. In Muslim royal courts, ‘Kathak’ had had a special importance, owing to its sentimental and powerful beauty. Read More: In the 19 th century, under the shelter of the last Nawab of Avadh Wajid Ali Shah, the dance form of ‘Kathak’ had enjoyed its climax popularity. It had established Lucknow through effective expressions and Swar. Jaipur Gharana is famous for its Laykari and Benaras Gharana is other famous school for the dance form of ‘Kathak’. Which body parts use in Kathak In ‘Kathak’, there is an exclusive style of dance.
The balance of the dancer’s body is divided according to the horizontal and vertical lines of the dancing arena. It also emphasizes the complete touch of the dancer’s feet to the dancing arena, with the maximum use of heel and toe fingers. In this dance form, neither the lower nor the upper bending parts of the body are used in dancing. Pure form of dance has a special place in ‘Kathak’, wherein the dancer skillfully controls the movement of musical bells wore on his / her ankles. In ‘Kathak’, Taal has various titles, e.g. Tukda, Toda and Paran. With the help of Taal on musical instruments, the dancer makes his / her moves.
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The dancer initiates dance with, where neck and wrists are moved steadily. While performing ‘Kathak’, the dancer displays Krishna’s tales through, Bhajan and Dadra. Today, ‘Kathak’ has attained the place of a chief dance form. This is the only Indian dance form that had its relation with Muslim culture. Is this article useful? If yes don’t forget to share it with your friends.
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The emergence of Raslila, mainly in the Braj region (Mathura in Western U.P.) was an important development. It combined in itself music, dance and the narrative.
Dance in Raslila, however, was mainly an extension of the basic mime and gestures of the Kathakars or story-tellers which blended easily with the existing traditional dance. With the coming of the Mughals, this dance form received a new impetus. A transition from the temple courtyard to the palace durbar took place which necessitated changes in presentation.
In both Hindu and Muslim courts, Kathak became highly stylised and came to be regarded as a sophisticated form of entertainment. Under the Muslims there was a greater stress on nritya and bhavagiving the dance graceful, expressive and sensuous dimensions. The nineteenth century saw the golden age of Kathak under the patronage of Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Oudh. He established the Lucknow gharana with its strong accent on bhava, the expression of moods and emotions. The Jaipur gharana known for its layakari or rhythmic virtuosity and the Benaras gharana are other prominent schools of Kathak dance. The technique of movement in Kathak is unique to it.
The weight of the body is equally distributed along the horizontal and vertical axis. The full foot contact is of prime importance where only the toe or the ball of the foot are used, their function is limited. There are no deflections and no use of sharp bends or curves of the upper or lower part of the body. Torso movements emerge from the change of the shoulder line rather than through the manipulations of the backbone or upper chest and lower waist muscles.
In the basic stance, the dancer stands straight, holds one hand at a level higher than the head and the other is extended out on the level of the shoulder. The technique is built by the use of an intricate system of foot-work.
Pure dance (nritta) is all important where complex rhythmic patterns are created through the use of the flat feet and the control of sound of the ankle bells worn by the dancer. As in Bharatnatyam, Odissi and Manipuri, Kathak also builds its pure dance sequences by combining units of movement. The cadences are called differently by the names tukra, tora, and parana, all indicative of the nature of rhythmic patterns used and the percussion instrument accompanying the dance. The dancer commences with a sequence called That where soft gliding movements of the neck, eyebrows and the wrists, are introduced.
This is followed by a conventional formal entry known as the Amad (entry) and the Salami (salutation). Then follow the various combinations of rhythmic passages all punctuated with and culminating in a number of pirouettes.
The pirouettes are the most characteristic feature of the dance style in nritta portions. Recitation of the rhythmic syllables is common; the dancer often pauses to recite these to a specified metrical cycle followed by execution through movement. The nritta portion of Kathak is performed to the nagma. Both the drummer (here the drum is either a pakhawaj, a type of mridangam, or a pair of tabla) and the dancer weave endless combinations on a repetitive melodic line. The metrical cycle (tala) of 16, 10, 14 beats provides the foundation on which the whole edifice of dance is built. In the mime portions ( nritya or abhinaya), words are not used in simple numbers called the gata, which is performed in a lyrical manner to gentle rhythm. These are short narrative pieces which portray a brief episode from Krishna's life.
A poetic line set to music is interpreted with gestures in other numbers, such as the tumri, bhajan, dadra - all lyrical musical compositions. In these sections, there is a word to word or line to line synchronisation in the same fashion as in Bharatnatyam or Odissi. Both in nritta (pure dance) and the abhinaya (mime) there is immense scope for improvisation of presenting variations on a theme. The interpretative and the abstract dance techniques are interwoven into each other, and the dancer's greatness lies in his capacity for improvisation on the melodic and metric line on the one hand and the poetic line on the other. Today, Kathak has emerged as a distinct dance form.
Being the only classical dance of India having links with Muslim culture, it represents a unique synthesis of Hindu and Muslim genius in art. Further, Kathak is the only form of classical dance wedded to Hindustani or the North Indian music. Both of them have had a parallel growth, each feeding and sustaining the other. Copyright © Centre for Cultural Resources and Training Ministry of Culture, Government of India 15-A, Sector - 7, Dwarka, New Delhi - 110075 Telephone:(011) 25088638, 25309300 Fax: 8637, E-mail:- dirdotccrtatnicdotin This Website is best viewed in FireFox, Chrome, Opera, Internet Explorer 8 or above(with Compatibility view mode off/disabled). The screen resolution desired is 1024x768 or above.