Editing Bharatanatyam (section)

==== Sequence of dances ====
[[File:A girl performing a Bharatanatyam dance at a Pongal Festival in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, India.jpg|right|thumb|A girl performing a Bharatanatyam dance at a Pongal Festival in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, India]]
A traditional Bharatanatyam arangetram dance performance follows a seven to eight-part order of presentation. This set is called ''Margam''.<ref name="tbalasaras3" /><ref>{{cite book|author1=Ann Cooper Albright |author2=David Gere |title=Taken by Surprise: A Dance Improvisation Reader |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OYbHhwUpxAMC&pg=PA143 |year=2003|publisher=Wesleyan University Press |isbn=978-0-8195-6648-5 |page=143}}</ref>

'''''Pushpanjali'''''

The Arangetram performance typically begins with a dance called the ''[[Pushpanjali]]'', which translates to "offering of flowers". In this dance, the performer offers flowers and salutations to the [[Hindu deities]], the [[guru]], and the audience as a mark of respect. The beginning of the dance symbolizes supplication, from which the dancer then commences the rest of the performance.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pushpanjali – Nadanam|url=http://www.nadanam.com/bharatnatyam/techinque/margam/pushpanjali/|access-date=2021-09-26|language=en}}</ref>

'''''Alarippu'''''

The presentation can also begin with a rhythmic invocation (''vandana'') called the ''[[Alaripu|Alarippu]]''.<ref name="McCutchen2006p450">{{cite book |author=Brenda P McCutchen |title=Teaching Dance as Art in  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C0yjXGJ3EEoC&pg=PA450 |year=2006 |publisher=Human Kinetics |isbn=978-0-7360-5188-0 |pages=450–452}}</ref> It is a pure dance, which combines a thank you and benediction for blessings from the gods and goddesses, the [[guru]] and the gathered performance team. It also serves as a preliminary warm-up dance, without melody, to enable the dancer to loosen their body, and journey away from distractions and towards single-minded focus.<ref name="tbalasaras3" />

'''''Jatiswaram'''''

The next stage of the performance adds melody to the movement of ''Alarippu'', and this is called ''Jatiswaram''.<ref name="McCutchen2006p450"/><ref name=tbalasaras3/> The dance remains a prelim technical performance (''nritta''), pure in form and without any expressed words. The [[drum]]s set the beat, of any Carnatic music ''raga'' (melody). They perform a sequence (''Korvai'') to the rhythm of the beat, presenting to the audience the unity of music, rhythm and movements.<ref name=tbalasaras3/>

'''''Shabdam'''''

The performance sequence then adds ''Shabdam'' (expressed words).<ref name="Vatsyayan1997p81">{{cite book|author=Kapila Vatsyayan |title=The Square and the Circle of the Indian Arts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vwLJc3pBzzUC&pg=PA81 |year=1997 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-362-5 |page=81}}</ref> This is the first item of Margam where expressions are introduced. The solo dancer, the vocalist(s), and the musical team, in this stage of the production, present short compositions, with words and meaning, in a spectrum of moods.<ref name=tbalasaras35/> This performance praises God (such as Krishna, Shiva, Rama, and Murugan) and their qualities.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sinha |first=Aakriti |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h67wZpGPUi0C&q=Andhranatyam&pg=PA8 |title=Let's Know Dances of India |date=2006 |publisher=Star Publications |isbn=978-81-7650-097-5 |pages=10 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Parida |first1=Srikanta |last2=Roshni |first2=CP |date=April 2022 |title=An analysis of Bharatanatyam |url=https://vedasamskritaacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Centenary-Commemoration-Volume.pdf#page=109 |journal=Journal of Veda Samskrita Academy |volume=I |pages=107}}</ref>

'''''Varnam'''''[[File:Rajasree warrier IMG 7539.JPG|thumb|180px|The ''Varnam'' part of Bharatanatyam emphasizes expressive dance.]]

The performance thereafter evolves into the ''Varnam'' stage.<ref name="Vatsyayan1997p81"/> This marks the arrival into the sanctum sanctorum core of the performance.<ref name=tbalasaras3/> It is the longest section and the ''nritya''. A traditional Varnam may be as long as 30–45 minutes or sometimes an hour. Varnam offers huge scope for improvisation and an experienced dancer can stretch the Varnam to a desirable length. The artist presents the play or the main composition, reveling in all their movements, silently communicating the text through codified gestures and footwork, harmoniously with the music, rhythmically punctuated. The dancer performs complicated moves, such as expressing a verse at two speeds.<ref name=ccrtindia/> Their hands and body tell a story, whether of love and longing or of a battle between the good and the evil,<ref>{{cite book |author1=Bajaj, Tanvi |author2=Vohra, Swasti Shrimali |title=Performing Arts and Therapeutic Implications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2MRcCgAAQBAJ |year=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-32572-7 |page=127}}</ref> as the musicians envelop them with musical notes and tones that set the appropriate mood.<ref name=tbalasaras35>T Balasaraswati (1976), Bharata Natyam, ''NCPA Quarterly Journal'', Volume 4, Issue 4, pages 3-5</ref>

'''''Padam'''''

The ''Padam'' is next.<ref name="Vatsyayan1997p81"/><ref name="AlbrightGere2003p143">{{cite book|author1=Ann Cooper Albright |author2=David Gere |title=Taken by Surprise: A Dance Improvisation Reader |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OYbHhwUpxAMC&pg=PA143 |year=2003|publisher=Wesleyan University Press |isbn=978-0-8195-6648-5 |pages=141–147}}</ref> This is the stage of reverence, of simplicity, of ''abhinaya'' (expression) of the solemn spiritual message or devotional religious prayer ([[bhakti]]). The music is lighter, the chant intimate, the dance emotional.<ref name=ccrtindia>[http://ccrtindia.gov.in/bharatnatyam.php Bharatnatyam Dance], Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, Government of India</ref><ref name=tbalasaras56>T Balasaraswati (1976), Bharata Natyam, ''NCPA Quarterly Journal'', Volume 4, Issue 4, pages 3, 5-6</ref> The choreography attempts to express ''rasa'' (emotional taste) and a mood, while the recital may include items such as a [[kirtan|keertanam]] (expressing devotion), a ''javali'' (expressing divine love) or something else.<ref name=ccrtindia/><ref name="AlbrightGere2003p143"/>

'''''Tillana'''''

The performance sequence ends with a ''[[Tillana]]'', the climax.<ref name="Vatsyayan1997p81"/> It closes out the ''nritya'' portion, the movements exit the temple of expressive dance, returning to the ''nritta'' style, where a series of pure movement and music are rhythmically performed. Therewith the performance ends.<ref name=tbalasaras3/><ref name=ccrtindia/>{{Refn|group=note|After the Tillana, the dancer may continue to the seventh part, called ''Shloka''.<ref name="Sinha2006p10"/> It is a reverential greeting, a thank you or a prayer to one or more gods, goddesses or to one's teacher. This is a post-performance, where a Sanskrit verse (Shloka) is danced out in the form of ''nritya''. An example Shloka:<ref>{{cite book |author1=Swami Paramatmananda Puri|author2=Amritanandamayi Devi |title=Dust Of Her Feet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cIOdCQAAQBAJ |year=2015 |publisher=Sterling |isbn=978-1-68037-296-0 |page=82}}</ref> "The [[Guru]] (teacher) is the Brahma, the Guru is the Vishnu, the Guru is the Maheshvara (Shiva). The Guru is the pathway to Supreme [[Brahman]] (supreme soul), to you the auspicious, I reverentially bow." Original: गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुर्गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः । गुरुरेव परं ब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ।।}}

'''''Shlokam or Mangalam'''''

The seventh and final item in the sequence can be either a ''[[Shlokam]]'' or a ''Mangalam''. The dancer calls for blessings on the people all around.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Short Introduction to Bharatanatyam |date=24 November 2018 |publisher=[[Sadler's Wells]] |series=Darbar Festival 2018 {{!}} An Evening of Bharatanatyam}}</ref>

The overall sequence of Bharatanatyam, states Balasaraswati, thus moves from "mere meter; then melody and meter; continuing with music, meaning and meter; its expansion in the centerpiece of the varnam; thereafter, music and meaning without meter; (...) a non-metrical song at the end. We see a most wonderful completeness and symmetry in this art".<ref>T Balasaraswati (1976), Bharata Natyam, ''NCPA Quarterly Journal'', Volume 4, Issue 4, page 4</ref>

[[File:Bharathanatyam By Ranjitha.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Costumes in Bharatanatyam]]