Bharatanatyam

 Bharatanatyam

Bharatanatyam (Tamil: பரதநாட்டியம்) is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu.The dance form is briefly mentioned as "Bharata Natya" in Kannada text Manasollasa written by Someshwara III. It has flourished in the temples and courts of southern India since ancient times.^[ It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism, collectively Hinduism.

A description of Bharatanatyam from the 2nd century CE can be found in the ancient Tamil epic Silappatikaram, while temple sculptures of the 6th to 9th century CE suggest it was a highly refined performance art by the mid-1st millennium CE. Bharatanatyam is the oldest classical dance tradition in India.Bharatanatyam is the state dance form of Tamil Nadu.

Bharatanatyam contains different types of banis. Bani, or 'tradition', is a term used to describe the dance technique and style specific to a guru or school. These are named according to the village of the guru (with the exception of some banis. Bharatanatyam style is noted for its fixed upper torso, bent legs and knees flexed (Aramandi) combined with spectacular footwork, and a sophisticated vocabulary of sign language based on gestures of hands, eyes, and face muscles. The dance is accompanied by music and a singer, and typically the dancer's guru is present as the Nattuvanar, director, and conductor of the performance and art. The performance repertoire of Bharatanatyam, like other classical dances, includes nrita (pure dance), nritya (solo expressive dance) and natya (group dramatic dance)

Bharatanatyam remained exclusive to Hindu temples through the 19th century.It was banned by the colonial British government in 1910, but the Indian community protested against the ban and expanded its performance outside temples in the 20th century.Modern stage productions of Bharatanatyam has been spread out and popular throughout India that has been done in different ways and have incorporated technical performances, pure dance based on non-religious ideas and fusion themes.Tanjavur brothers gave the actual form of the recent day repertoire of Bharatanatyam by formalizing bharatanatyam into a melodious art form.