Ghungroo, chakkar, upaj and costume
- Ghungroo: strings of small metal bells tied to the ankles. The dancer controls them: a soft step gives a soft sound and a stamp gives a loud sound. A Kathak dancer can also stop the bells completely to show silence.
- Chakkar: a fast spin on the spot, often in a set of 5, 7 or more turns. The dancer keeps the head up, fixes the eyes on one point and lands on sam.
- Upaj: new patterns made up on the spot. In a jugalbandi the dancer and the tabla player answer each other with fresh patterns.
- Costume: a wide skirt (lehenga) with a scarf (dupatta), or a kurta with churidar for male dancers. The wide skirt flies out and makes spins look big.
Notation of Teentaal and Jhaptaal
A tala is a repeating cycle of beats (matras). It is divided into groups (vibhags). Some groups start with a clap (tali) and one starts with a wave of the hand (khali, "empty"). The first beat is sam.
Teentaal: 16 beats, 4 + 4 + 4 + 4
Dha dhin dhin dha | Dha dhin dhin dha | Dha tin tin ta | Ta dhin dhin dha
Claps on beats 1 (sam), 5 and 13. Wave on beat 9. In writing: X on 1, 2 on 5, 0 on 9, 3 on 13.
Jhaptaal: 10 beats, 2 + 3 + 2 + 3
Dhi na | Dhi dhi na | Ti na | Dhi dhi na
Claps on beats 1 (sam), 3 and 8. Wave on beat 6. In writing: X on 1, 2 on 3, 0 on 6, 3 on 8.
Nritta, nritya, natya, tandava and lasya
- Nritta: pure dance. Rhythm, footwork and shapes. It has no story.
- Nritya: dance with feeling. The same body now shows the meaning of a song.
- Natya: drama. A story with characters, speech or song and dance.
Two moods of movement:
- Tandava: strong, sharp and energetic, linked with Shiva.
- Lasya: soft, flowing and graceful, linked with Parvati.
Anga, upanga and pratyanga
Old books on dance divide the body into three groups:
- Anga (major limbs): head, hands, chest, sides, waist and feet.
- Upanga (face parts): eyes, eyebrows, nose, lips, cheeks and chin.
- Pratyanga (minor limbs): neck, shoulders, arms, back, belly and thighs.
A Kathak dancer uses all three together: the feet keep the beat, the hands and neck shape the pose, and the eyes tell the story.
Try it: in the 3D and at home
In the 3D, switch between Teentaal and Jhaptaal and watch where the gold claps and the white wave post fall. At home: clap Teentaal. Clap on 1, 5 and 13 and turn your palms up (wave) on 9. Then try Jhaptaal: clap on 1, 3 and 8, wave on 6. Keep counting aloud.
Key formulas and definitions
- Teentaal = 16 beats = 4 + 4 + 4 + 4; tali on 1, 5, 13; khali on 9.
- Jhaptaal = 10 beats = 2 + 3 + 2 + 3; tali on 1, 3, 8; khali on 6.
- Sam = first beat; tali = clap; khali = wave (empty).
- Nritta = rhythm only; Nritya = rhythm + feeling; Natya = drama.
- Dance parts: Anga (major) + Upanga (face) + Pratyanga (minor).
Worked examples
1. In Teentaal, how many claps and how many waves are there in one round, and on which beats?
Three claps on beats 1, 5 and 13, and one wave on beat 9. So 3 claps + 1 wave = 4 groups of 4 beats.
2. A dancer performs Jhaptaal for 4 rounds. How many beats is that, and how many claps?
One round has 10 beats, so 4 rounds = 40 beats. Each round has 3 claps (beats 1, 3, 8), so 4 × 3 = 12 claps.
3. A dancer shows only fast footwork and spins with no story. Then she shows the meaning of a song with her eyes. Name the two kinds of dance.
Fast footwork and spins only is nritta (pure rhythm). Showing the meaning of a song with feeling is nritya.
Common mistakes
- Thinking khali means silence. Khali is the wave of the hand; the drummer still plays, only the sound of the bols changes.
- Mixing up nritta and nritya. Nritta has no meaning; nritya shows the meaning of words or story.
- Saying Jhaptaal has 4 + 4 + 2 beats. It is 2 + 3 + 2 + 3 = 10.
- Calling eyes and eyebrows anga. They belong to upanga; anga means the major limbs.