Declare the glory of the Load
Announce that the lord is God
Nullify the enemies lies.
Carry the word of the Lord
Exult the name of God.
I am not sure why I gave up dance May be I didn’t have the commitment May be I didn’t have the stamina May be I didn’t have the talent Or may be it’s because Whenever I stood up on my hind legs And did my pirouette All the humans in class Would point and scream And flee in uncomprehending horror But “may be” never answer a question Now does it?
Dance is a physical and visual art form, which has an immediate and massive impact on the spectator. The various Indian forms act like a window to India’s rich cultural reservoir. Dance is the form of art, where in the body is used as a medium of communication. Indian dances have played an influential role in many other realms of art including poetry, sculpture, architecture, literature, music and theatre.
The earliest archaeological evidence of Indian dance, which dates back to 6000 BC, depicts a beautiful statuette of a dancing girl. Bharata’s Natya Shastra (which was written between the 2nd century B.C. and 2nd century A.D) is the earliest available thesis on dramaturgy. All forms of Indian classical dances owe allegiance to Natya Shastra, which is believed to be the ‘fifth Veda’ of the Indian culture.
According to a popular belief, Brahma, the Creator of the World, combined literature from the Rig Veda, songs from the Sama Veda,abhinaya (expression) from the Yajur Veda and rasa (aesthetic experience) from the Atharva Veda, to form natya (what we today call dance).
Apart from the abhinaya and the performance of rasa, the audience is amused by the attire and ornaments of the artist. The majority of Indian classical dance forms are focused on the depiction of the nine rasas (Navarasas or the emotions), which includes Hasya (happiness), Krodha (anger), Bhibasta (disgust), Bhaya (fear), Shoka (sorrow), Viram (courage), Karuna (compassion), Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (serenity).
Dance in India comprises the varied styles of dances in the country. As with other aspects of Indian culture, different forms of dances originated in different parts of India, developed according to the local traditions and also imbibed Folk dances are numerous in number and style, and vary according to the local tradition of the respective state, ethnic or geographic regions. Contemporary dances include refined and experimental fusions of classical, folk and Western forms. Dancing traditions of India have influence not only over the dances in the whole of South lements from other parts of the country.