CBSE Class 12 Bharatanatyam Dance (code 057)
Chapters: 2
1. Bharatanatyam Theory
Exponents and texts · Concepts · Technical terms
- Indian Classical Dance – Indian classical dance grew from ideas written in the Natya Shastra (by Bharata, about 2,000 years old) and the Abhinaya Darpana (by Nandikeshvara). Every form mixes three parts: nritta (pure rhythm), nritya (dance with feeling) and natya (drama). Eight forms are widely recognised: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri, Mohiniyattam and Sattriya. Dancers express through four kinds of abhinaya (angika, vachika, aharya, sattvika) so that the audience feels one of nine rasas.
2. Bharatanatyam Practical
Items · Hastas and music
- Classical Dance Technique – Good classical technique rests on five things: a stable base posture (samapada, aramandi/mandala, chauk), clear body lines (such as tribhanga), clean footwork kept in time at single, double and quadruple speed, a firm sense of tala (the beat cycle, with sam and khali), and precise hand gestures (hastas). Warm-up, eye and neck exercises, turns (chakkar, bhramari) and safe practice tie it all together.
- Hastas and Music in Bharatanatyam: Gestures, Footwork, Talas and Ragas – Bharatanatyam speaks with the hands and moves to Carnatic music. The text Abhinaya Darpana lists 28 single-hand (asamyuta) hastas and about 23–24 combined (samyuta) hastas; each has many uses (viniyoga), and deity (deva) hastas show gods, such as Vishnu with tripataka in both hands. Padabhedas cover the feet: mandalas (standing and sitting positions such as samapada, aramandi and muzhumandi), utplavanas (jumps), bhramaris (7 kinds of turns), charis and gatis. The music side: the 7 suladi talas (Dhruva, Matya, Rupaka, Jhampa, Triputa, Ata, Eka) are built from laghu, drutam and anudrutam; the laghu changes with 5 jatis, giving 35 talas (Adi = chatusra jati triputa = 8 beats). A raga is a set of swaras with an arohana and avarohana; 72 melakarta ragas are parents, and janya ragas such as Mohanam are derived from them.