Editing Bharatanatyam

{{Short description|Major form of Indian classical dance}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use Indian English|date = August 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox dance
| name        = ''Bharatanatyam''
| image       = Murugashankari Leo.jpg
| alt         = 
| caption     = 
| native_name = 
| etymology   = Portmanteau of the Tamil words ''bhavam'' (expression), ''[[raga]]m'' (melody), ''[[Tala (music)|thalam]]'' (rhythm), and ''natyam'' (dance)
| genre       = [[Indian classical dance]]
| signature   = 
| instruments = 
| inventor    = 
| year        = 
| origin      = [[Tamil Nadu]], India
}}
'''''Bharatanātyam''''' is an [[Indian classical dance]] form that originated in [[Tamil Nadu]], India.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Franco |first1=Susanne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nm0WDAAAQBAJ&dq=bharatanatyam+originated+tamil+nadu&pg=PA202 |title=Dance Discourses: Keywords in Dance Research |last2=Nordera |first2=Marina |date=2016-04-29 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-94712-6 |pages=202 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Planet |first1=Lonely |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tmuyDwAAQBAJ&dq=bharatanatyam+originated+tamil+nadu&pg=PT2176 |title=Lonely Planet India |last2=Benanav |first2=Michael |last3=Bindloss |first3=Joe |last4=Brown |first4=Lindsay |last5=Butler |first5=Stuart |last6=Elliott |first6=Mark |last7=Harding |first7=Paul |last8=Holden |first8=Trent |last9=Mahapatra |first9=Anirban |date=2019-10-01 |publisher=Lonely Planet |isbn=978-1-78868-682-2 |language=en}}</ref> It is a classical dance form recognized by the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi]], and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of [[Hinduism]] and [[Jainism]].<ref name="britannicabn">[https://www.britannica.com/art/bharata-natyam Bharata-natyam] ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2007</ref><ref name="Schechner65">{{cite book|author=Richard Schechner |title=Between Theater and Anthropology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DoEaulAxbu8C&pg=PA65 |year=2010|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-0092-8 |pages=65–66}}</ref><ref>T Balasaraswati (1976), Bharata Natyam, ''NCPA Quarterly Journal'', Volume 4, Issue 4, pages 1-8</ref>

A description of precursors of ''Bharatanatyam'' from the [[Natya Shastra]] dated around (500 BCE){{sfn|Natalia Lidova|1994|pp=111–113}}{{Sfn|Richmond|Swann|Zarrilli|1993|p=30}} and in the ancient Tamil epic ''[[Silappatikaram]]'' dated around (171 CE),{{sfn|Dikshitar|1939|pp=11–18}}{{sfn|Danielou|1965|p=ix}} while temple sculptures of the 6th to 9th century CE suggest dance was a refined performance art by the mid-1st millennium CE.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Traditions of Indian Classical Dance|last=Khokar|first=Mohan|publisher=Clarion Books|year=1984|location=India|pages=73–76}}</ref><ref name="Lochtefeld2002p103">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kl0DYIjUPgC&pg=PA103|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M|author=James G. Lochtefeld|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|year=2002|isbn=978-0-8239-3179-8|pages=103–104}}</ref> Sadiraattam, which was renamed Bharatanatyam in 1932, is the oldest classical dance tradition in India.<ref>{{cite book|author=Richard Schechner|title=Between Theater and Anthropology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DoEaulAxbu8C |year=2010|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0812279290|pages=65 }}</ref> 

''Bharatanatyam'' contains different types of ''bani''. ''Bani'', or "tradition", is a term used to describe the dance technique and style specific to a guru or school, often named for the village of the guru. ''Bharatanatyam'' style is noted for its fixed upper torso, bent legs, and flexed knees (''Aramandi'') combined with footwork, and a vocabulary of [[sign language]] based on gestures of hands, eyes, and face muscles.<ref name="Lochtefeld2002p103" /> The dance is accompanied by music and a singer, and typically the dancer's [[guru]] is present as the ''nattuvanar'' or director-conductor of the performance and art. The performance repertoire of Bharatanatyam, like other classical dances, includes ''nrita'' (pure dance), ''[[nritya]]'' (Conveys a meaning to the audience through hand gestures) and ''[[Indian classical dance|natya]]'' (Consists of the elements of drama).<ref name="Claus2003p136">{{cite book |author1=Peter J. Claus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ienxrTPHzzwC |title=South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia |author2=Sarah Diamond |author3=Margaret Ann Mills |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-415-93919-5 |pages=136}}</ref><ref name="kjayakrishnan25">Kavitha Jayakrishnan (2011), [https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/handle/10012/6356 Dancing Architecture: the parallel evolution of Bharatanātyam and South Indian Architecture], MA Thesis, Awarded by University of Waterloo, Canada, page 25</ref> A program of bharatanatyam usually lasts two hours without interruption and includes a specific list of procedures, all performed by one dancer, who does not leave the stage or change costume. The accompanying orchestra—composed of drums, drone, and singer—occupies the back of the stage, led by the guru, or the teacher, of the dancer.

Sadiraattam remained exclusive to Hindu temples through the 19th century.<ref name="Lochtefeld2002p103"/> It was banned by the colonial British government in 1910,<ref name=pallabinilan30/> but the Indian community protested against the ban and expanded its performance outside temples in the 20th century as Bharatanatyam.<ref name="Lochtefeld2002p103"/><ref name=pallabinilan30/><ref>{{cite book |author=Janet O'Shea |title=At Home in the World: Bharata Natyam on the Global Stage |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4CfA4uDwCKwC |year=2007 |publisher=Wesleyan University Press |isbn=978-0-8195-6837-3 |pages=26–38, 55–57, 83–87 }}</ref> Modern stage productions of Bharatanatyam have become popular throughout India and include performances that are purely dance-based on non-religious ideas and fusion themes.<ref name=":0"/><ref name="Lochtefeld2002p103"/> The [[Thanjavur Quartet]] developed the basic structure of modern Bharatanatyam by formalizing it.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mahotsav |first=Amrit |title='Tanjore Quartet' and the birth of modern-day Bharatanatyam |url=https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/blogdetail.htm?58 |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Culture, Government of India |language=English}}</ref>

==Etymology==
In 1932, [[E. Krishna Iyer|E Krishna Iyer]] and [[Rukmini Devi Arundale]] put forward a proposal to rename ''Sadiraattam''  ({{Langx|ta|சதிராட்டம்}}), also known as ''Parathaiyar Aattam or Thevarattam'', as ''Bharatanatyam'', to give the dance form a measure of respect, at a meeting of the Madras Music Academy.<ref name="amandp120">{{cite book |author=Amanda J. Weidman |title=Singing the Classical, Voicing the Modern |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QEnkgDjS9BAC&pg=PA120 |publisher=Duke University Press |year=2006 |isbn= 9780822388050 |page=120}}</ref> They also were instrumental in modifying mainly the [[Pandanallur style]] of dance. The word ''Bharatam'' comes from the term ''Bharat'' which is the Sanskrit name for India.

==History==
[[File:Thanjavur, Brihadishwara Temple, dance (6851706080).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2<!--fmt for low img-->|Dancers at Thanjavur, [[Brihadeeswarar Temple|Brihadeshwara temple]] dedicated to [[Shiva]]. The temple has been a center for dance since about 1000 CE.<ref>{{cite book|author=James G. Lochtefeld |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M|url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch |url-access=registration |year=2002|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3179-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch/page/n379 126]–127}}</ref>]]
[[File:Tanjore sadir temple dancer Gnyana seated - L’Ancien musee des colonies, Fedor Jagor, ca. 1850.jpg|thumb|Notable ''Sadir'' dancer ''Gnyana of Tanjore'', 19th century.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Roebert |first1=Donovan |title=The Celebrated Sadir Dancer Tanjore Gnyana (1857-1922): A Life in Words and Pictures |url=https://www.academia.edu/62345621}}</ref>]]

The theoretical foundations of dance Bharatanatyam are found first in ''[[Natya Shastra]]'', a Sanskrit text of performance arts and later in a Tamil text called Kootha nool taken from Tholkappiyam (250 BCE).<ref name=":0"/><ref>{{cite book |author1=Eugenio Barba |author2=Nicola Savarese |title=A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology: The Secret Art of the Performer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ky6MAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA208-IA69|year=2011|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-17634-1|page=208}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Peter Fletcher|author2=Laurence Picken |title=World Musics in Context: A Comprehensive Survey of the World's Major Musical Cultures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i2vDlcIyVjUC&pg=PA262 |year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-517507-3 |pages=262 }}</ref>

''Natya Shastra'' is attributed to the ancient scholar [[Bharata Muni]], and its first complete compilation is dated to between 500 BCE and 200 CE,{{sfn|Natalia Lidova|2014}}{{sfn|Tarla Mehta|1995|pp=xxiv, 19–20}} but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE.{{sfn|Wallace Dace|1963|p=249}} Richmond et al. estimate the ''Natasutras'' to have been composed around 600 BCE.{{Sfn|Richmond|Swann|Zarrilli|1993|p=30}} The most studied version of the ''Natya Shastra'' text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters.{{sfn|Natalia Lidova|2014}}{{sfn|Emmie Te Nijenhuis|1974|pp=1–25}} The text, states Natalia Lidova, describes the theory of ''Tāṇḍava'' dance ([[Shiva]]), the theory of ''rasa'', of ''bhāva'', expression, gestures, acting techniques, basic steps, standing postures—all of which are part of Indian classical dances.{{sfn|Natalia Lidova|2014}}{{sfn|Kapila Vatsyayan|2001}} Dance and performance arts, states this text,<ref>{{cite book|author=Guy L. Beck|title=Sonic Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UzUMCAAAQBAJ |year=2012 |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |isbn=978-1-61117-108-2 |pages=138–139 |quote='''Quote:''' "A summation of the signal importance of the Natyasastra for Hindu religion and culture has been provided by Susan Schwartz, "In short, the Natyasastra is an exhaustive encyclopedic dissertation of the arts, with an emphasis on performing arts as its central feature. It is also full of invocations to deities, acknowledging the divine origins of the arts and the central role of performance arts in achieving divine goals (...)".}}</ref> are a form of expression of spiritual ideas, virtues and the essence of scriptures.<ref name=mog17>{{cite web |title=The Mirror of Gesture |author=Coormaraswamy and Duggirala |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1917 |page=4 |url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924012568535#page/n5/mode/2up}}; Also see chapter 36</ref>

Historical references to dance are found in the Tamil epics ''[[Silappatikaram]]'' (c. 2nd century CE{{sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|p=47}}) and ''Manimegalai'' (c. 6th century).<ref name=":0"/><ref name="Lochtefeld2002p103"/> The ancient text ''Silappatikaram'', includes a story of a dancing girl named Madhavi; it describes the dance training regimen called ''Arangatrau Kathai'' of Madhavi in verses 113 through 159.{{sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|p=47}} The carvings in Kanchipuram's Shiva temple that have been dated to 6th to 9th century CE suggest dance was a well-developed performance art by about the mid 1st millennium CE.<ref name=":0"/><ref name="Lochtefeld2002p103"/><ref name=Kilger1993>{{cite book | last=Kilger| first=George|title=Bharata Natyam in Cultural Perspective | year=1993| publisher=Manohar American Institute of Indian Studies| location=New Delhi| page=2}}</ref>

{{multiple image
| footer            = Dance helped inspire musicians, poets, painters, singers, and sculptors in Indian history.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Allen G. Noble |author2=Ashok K. Dutt |title=India: Cultural Patterns and Processes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5808AAAAMAAJ |year=1982 |publisher=Westview Press |isbn=978-0-86531-237-1 |page=160}}</ref>
| align             = left
| image1            = Temple troglodytique dédié à Shiva (Badami, Inde) (14146091479).jpg
| width1            = 160
| caption1          = A 7th century Shiva in Karnataka
| image2            = Bharathanaatyam at Kerala school kalolsavam 2019 8.jpg
| width2            = 155
| caption2          = A Bharatanatyam pose
}}

A famous example of illustrative sculpture is in the southern gateway of the Chidambaram temple (≈12th century) dedicated to the Hindu god [[Shiva]], where 108 poses, described as [[karana (dance)|karanas]] in the ''Natya Shastra'', are carved in stone.<ref name="JonesRyan2006p107">{{cite book|author1=Constance Jones|author2=James D. Ryan|title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&pg=PA107 |year=2006|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-7564-5|pages=79, 107 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Vidya Dehejia|title=Art of the Imperial Cholas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=23F7vTn3hBMC |year=2013|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-51524-5 |pages=101 }}</ref>

Bharatanatyam shares the dance poses of many ancient Shiva sculptures in Hindu temples. The Cave 1 of the [[Badami cave temples]] of [[Karnataka]],  dated back to the 7th century portrays the ''[[Tandava]]'' dancing Shiva as [[Nataraja]].{{Sfn|Michell|2014|p=37–38}}{{Sfn|Fergusson|1880|p=414}}<ref name=aliceboner /> The image, {{Convert|5|ft}} tall, has 18 arms in a form that expresses the dance positions arranged in a geometric pattern.<ref name=aliceboner>Alice Boner (1990), Principles of Composition in Hindu Sculpture: Cave Temple Period, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0705-1}}, pages&nbsp;89–95, 115–124, 174–184</ref> The arms of Shiva express [[mudra|''mudras'']] (symbolic hand gestures),<ref>Fred Kleiner (2009), Gardner's Art through the Ages: Non-Western Perspectives, Wadsworth Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0-495-57367-8}}, page 21</ref> that are used in Bharatanatyam.<ref name=":0"/><ref>Kavitha Jayakrishnan (2011), [https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/handle/10012/6356 Dancing Architecture: the parallel evolution of Bharatanātyam and South Indian Architecture], MA Thesis, Awarded by University of Waterloo, Canada, pages 21-27, 46</ref> The early 12th century ancient Sanskrit text [[Manasollasa]] discusses about the dancing movements like [[Natya]], [[Tandava]], [[Lasya]], [[Laghu]], Visama and Vikata, This discussion is similar to the content found in [[Natya Shastra]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/TxtSkt-mAnasOllAsa-Somesvara-Vol3-1961-0024b/TxtSkt-mAnasOllAsa-Somesvara-vol3-1961-0024b#page/n1/mode/2up|title=Mannasolasa}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nijenhuis |first=Emmie Te |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kGzESuCeK-sC |title=Saṅgītaśiromaṇi: A Medieval Handbook of Indian Music |date=1992 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-09498-7 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bharatanatyam - classical Dance |url=https://karnatakatourism.org/destinations/bharatanatyam/ |access-date=2024-12-15 |website=Karnataka Tourism |language=en-GB}}</ref>  

===Devadasis, anti-dance movement, colonial ban, and the decline===
Some colonial [[Indologist]]s and modern authors have argued that Bharatanatyam is a descendant of an ancient ''[[Devadasi]]'' ({{Lit|servant girls of Devas}}) culture, suggesting a historical origin back to between 300 BCE and 300 CE.<ref name=soneji30/> Modern scholars have questioned this theory for lack of any direct textual or archeological evidence.<ref name=amritsri73/><ref name=leslieorr8/> Historic sculptures and texts do describe and project dancing girls, as well as temple quarters dedicated to women, but they do not state them to be courtesans and prostitutes as alleged by early colonial Indologists.<ref name=soneji30/> According to Davesh Soneji, a critical examination of evidence suggests that courtesan dancing is a phenomenon of the modern era, beginning in the late 16th or the 17th century of the [[Madurai Nayak dynasty|Nayaka period]] of Tamil Nadu.<ref name=soneji30>{{cite book|author=Davesh Soneji |title=Unfinished Gestures: Devadasis, Memory, and Modernity in South India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=24uaoBjDKQgC |year=2011 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-76811-3 |pages=30–31 }}</ref> According to James Lochtefeld, classical dance remained exclusive to Hindu temples through the 19th century, only in the 20th century appearing on stage outside the temples.<ref name="Lochtefeld2002p103"/> Further, the [[Thanjavur Maratha kingdom]] patronized classical dance.<ref>{{cite news |title=Royal tribute to Thanjavur rulers |newspaper=The New Indian Express |date=2017 |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2017/dec/27/royal-tribute-to-thanjavur-rulers-1738354.html}}</ref>

[[File: Rukmini Devi.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Rukmini Devi Arundale]], pictured in 1940, proposed Bharatanatyam after Hindu temple dancing was banned by the British colonial government in 1910.]]

With the arrival of the [[East India Company]] in the 18th century, and British colonial rule in the 19th, classical Indian dance forms were ridiculed and discouraged, and these performance arts declined.<ref>{{cite book |author=Leslie C. Orr |title=Donors, Devotees, and Daughters of God: Temple Women in Medieval Tamilnadu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F___xKcP8lMC |year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-535672-4 |pages=11–13}}</ref> Christian missionaries and British officials presented "[[nautch girl]]s" of north India ([[Kathak]]) and "devadasis" of south India (Bharatanatyam) as evidence of "harlots, debased erotic culture, slavery to idols and priests" tradition, and Christian missionaries demanded that this must be stopped, launching the "anti-dance movement" in 1892.<ref name=marysnodgrass166>{{cite book |author=Mary Ellen Snodgrass |title=The Encyclopedia of World Folk Dance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DMGpDAAAQBAJ |year=2016 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-5749-8 |pages=165–168 }}</ref><ref name="Ghuman2014p97">{{cite book|author=Nalini Ghuman |title=Resonances of the Raj: India in the English Musical Imagination, 1897-1947 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BkVZAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA97 |year=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-931489-8 |pages=97 footnote 72 }}</ref><ref name="Walker2016p94">{{cite book |author=Margaret E. Walker |title=India's Kathak Dance in Historical Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nC83DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA94 |year=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-11737-7 |pages=94–98 }}</ref> The anti-dance camp accused the dance form as a front for prostitution, while revivalists questioned the constructed colonial histories.<ref name=amritsri73>{{cite journal |title=The Hindu Temple-dancer: Prostitute or Nun? |author=Amrit Srinivasan |journal=The Cambridge Journal of Anthropology |volume=8| issue=1 |year =1983 |pages=73–99 |jstor=23816342}}</ref><ref name=leslieorr8>{{cite book |author=Leslie C. Orr |title=Donors, Devotees, and Daughters of God: Temple Women in Medieval Tamilnadu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F___xKcP8lMC |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-535672-4|pages=5, 8–17}}</ref>

In 1910, the [[Madras Presidency]] of the [[British Raj|British Empire]] banned temple dancing, and with it the classical dance tradition in Hindu temples.<ref name=pallabinilan30>{{cite book |author1=Pallabi Chakravorty |author2=Nilanjana Gupta |title=Dance Matters: Performing India on Local and Global Stages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQly7wn0C5sC&pg=PA30 |year=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-51612-2 |pages=30}}</ref>

The banning of temple dancing stemmed from the 1892 anti-dance movement and new, liberal colonial perspectives. What the English imagined nineteenth-century modernity to be did not include what they regarded Bharatanatyam to be, which they regarded as indecent.<ref name="Meduri">{{cite journal |author=Avanthi Meduri |year=2004 |title=Bharatanatyam as a Global Dance: Some Issues in Research, Teaching, and Practice |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20444589 |journal=Dance Research Journal |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=11–29|doi=10.2307/20444589 |jstor=20444589 |s2cid=144784756 }}</ref> Coming from a deep orientalist perspective, the morality of people who performed Bharatanatyam was called into question.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Thobani |first=Sitara |title=Indian classical dance and the making of Postcolonial National Identities: Dancing on Empire's stage |publisher=Routledge |year=2017}}</ref> Accusations of prostitution were thrown around. Some women from traditionally performing communities were used as a way to showcase obscenity.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Kannan |first=Rajalakshmi Nadadur |date=2019 |title=Colonial Material Collections and Representations of Devadasi Bodies in the Public Sphere in the Early 20th-Century South India |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27095513 |journal=Anthropos |volume=114 |issue=2 |pages=531–546 |doi=10.5771/0257-9774-2019-2-531 |jstor=27095513 |s2cid=214131186 |issn=0257-9774}}</ref> New reforms disregarded local issues like production of the arts for the sake of liberalism and felt able to impose disruptive reforms that reshaped lives at all levels and subjected people to new standards. Colonial reforms were largely unsympathetic to local traditions, and dismissive of the industry surrounding producing art.<ref name="Meduri" /> The adoption of Anglo-Indian laws that imposed certain restrictions and regulations on certain expressions of sexuality, and more so regulations on bodies and sex in general, which in turn affected traditional dance practices.<ref name=":2" /> Temple dancing became caught in a web of multiple political agendas, hoping to bend this burgeoning morality issue to suit their cause.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Ganesh |first=Swarnamalya |date=2015 |title=RENAMING "SADIR" AS BHARATANATYAM: What's in a Name? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26316557 |journal=India International Centre Quarterly |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=116–125 |jstor=26316557 |issn=0376-9771}}</ref> Colonial denunciations of the practice of temple dancing were caught up in liberal ideals of bringing modernity to India, where modernity was tied to Anglo-Protestant moral ideas about how bodies are viewed and how sexuality was presented.<ref name=":2" />

===Post-colonial revival===

The 1910 ban triggered protests against the stereotyping and dehumanization of temple dancers.<ref name=pallabinilan30/> Tamil people were concerned that a historic and rich dance tradition was being victimized under the excuse of social reform.<ref name=pallabinilan30/>{{Sfn|Kapila Vatsyayan|1974|p=23}} Classical art revivalists such as [[E. Krishna Iyer]], a lawyer who had learned from traditional practitioners of Sadir, questioned the cultural discrimination and the assumed connection, asking why prostitution needs years of training for performance arts, and how killing performance arts could end any evils in society.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Hindu Temple-dancer: Prostitute or Nun? |author=Amrit Srinivasan |journal=The Cambridge Journal of Anthropology |volume=8| number=1 |year=1983 | pages=79–80 |jstor=23816342}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Meduri | first=Avanthi | title=Bharatha Natyam-What Are You? | journal=Asian Theatre Journal | publisher=University of Hawaii Press | volume=5 | issue=1 | year=1988 | pages=5–7 | doi=10.2307/1124019 | jstor=1124019 }}</ref> Iyer was arrested and sentenced to prison on charges of nationalism, who while serving out his prison term persuaded his fellow political prisoners to support Bharatanatyam.<ref>{{cite book|author=Janet O'Shea|title=At Home in the World: Bharata Natyam on the Global Stage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4CfA4uDwCKwC |year=2007|publisher=Wesleyan University Press|isbn=978-0-8195-6837-3 |pages=35–36 }}</ref>

While the British colonial government enforced laws to suppress Hindu temple dances, some from the West, such as the American dancer Esther Sherman moved to India in 1930, learned Indian classical dances, changed her name to [[Ragini Devi]], and joined the movement to revive Bharatanatyam and other ancient dance arts.<ref>{{cite book|author=Janet O'Shea|title=At Home in the World: Bharata Natyam on the Global Stage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4CfA4uDwCKwC |year=2007|publisher=Wesleyan University Press|isbn=978-0-8195-6837-3 |page=7 }}</ref>

The Indian independence movement in the early 20th century, already in progress, became a period of cultural foment and initiated an effort by its people to reclaim their culture and rediscover history.<ref name=marysnodgrass166/><ref>{{cite book|author=Margaret E. Walker|title=India's Kathak Dance in Historical Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nC83DAAAQBAJ |year=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-11737-7 |pages=99–102 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Ester Gallo|title=Migration and Religion in Europe: Comparative Perspectives on South Asian Experiences|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TswFDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA32|year=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-09637-5 |pages=32 }}</ref> In this period of cultural and political turmoil, Bharatanatyam was revived as a mainstream dance outside of Hindu temples by artists such as [[Rukmini Devi Arundale]], [[Balasaraswati]] and [[Yamini Krishnamurti]]<ref name="PineKuhlke2013p5"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Janet O'Shea|title=At Home in the World: Bharata Natyam on the Global Stage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4CfA4uDwCKwC |year=2007|publisher=Wesleyan University Press|isbn=978-0-8195-6837-3 |pages=82–85 }}</ref> They championed and performed the [[Pandanallur style]] and Thanjavur styles of Bharatanatyam.<ref name="PineKuhlke2013p5">{{cite book|author=Paromitra Kar|editor=Adam M. Pine and Olaf Kuhlke|title=Geographies of Dance: Body, Movement, and Corporeal Negotiations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1FzAgAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=Lexington |isbn=978-0-7391-7185-1|pages=5–6}}</ref>

Nationalist movements that brought revitalizing devadasis up as an issue to focus on viewed it as a way to critique the imposition of colonial morality on India. However, the revival movement was not without Western influence. Nationalist movements that also focused on devadasis revival were influenced by Western ideas of democratization of arts. Part of the revival movement was making the opportunity to dance open to more people.<ref name=":3" /> Nationalist movements that focused on revival were also influenced by Western ideology through their propagation that part of the revival movement is a reassertion of traditional values, as well as a moment to remind people of the country’s cultural heritage and reestablish a sense of identity.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Shah |first=Purnima |date=2002 |title=State Patronage in India: Appropriation of the "Regional" and "National" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1568182 |journal=Dance Chronicle |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=125–141 |doi=10.1081/DNC-120003123 |jstor=1568182 |s2cid=159713358 |issn=0147-2526}}</ref> Fighting for freedom from the British and fighting for civil liberties included debates about morality, and how gender impacts morality. The revival movement moralized devadasis by democratizing the art, while also decorating it with the female performing class.<ref name=":3" /> Figures like Rukmini Devi Arundale, who are credited with revitalizing Bharatanatyam, also shifted the practice to appeal to middle to upper-class women.<ref name=":1" /> Rukmini Devi Arundale is credited with helping develop the [[Kalakshetra style]] of Bharatanatyam.<ref name="Meduri" /> There was an emphasis on building a modern India through Indian nationalism, which tied in with protecting traditional artistic traditions. The decommercialization and sanitation of Bharatanatyam for the sake of protecting the spirit of the art is part of Bharatanatyam’s revival.<ref name=":3" /> Bharatanatyam’s successful revival meant that it was regarded as a classical dance tradition specific to India, as opposed to a cultural dance that had been changed by colonial censorship.<ref name="Meduri" /> It was becoming a modern nation to have a traditional dance that was practiced recreationally and was nationally recognized.<ref name=":4" /> With the standardization of Bharatanatyam, there came books based on historic texts, like [[Natya Shastra]], which described the different movements.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bharat Muni |url=http://archive.org/details/NatyaShastra |title=Natya Shastra}}</ref>  Evidence of a successful revival movement of Bharatanatyam through [[Indian nationalist movement|Indian Nationalist movements]] was the introduction of state-sponsored dance festivals in 1955 in an independent India. These festivals were put on to display art with religious, social, and cultural connotations that have some regional diversity on a common national platform.<ref name=":4" />

In the late 20th century, Tamil Hindu migrants reintroduced the traditions of temple dancing in British Tamil temples.<ref>Ann David (2007), Religious Dogma or Political Agenda? Bharatanatyam and its Reemergence in British Tamil Temples, ''Journal for the Anthropological Study of Human Movement'', Volume 14, Number 4, Fall 2007, University of Illinois Press, [http://jashm.press.illinois.edu/14.4/index.html Archive]</ref>

==Elements==
[[File:Bharatanatyam danseuse.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Rama Vaidyanathan]] using expression and posture]]

Bharatanatyam is traditionally a team performance art that consists of a [[solo dance]]r, accompanied by musicians and one or more singers. It is described as classical art because the theory of musical notes, vocal performance, and the dance movement reflect ideas of the Sanskrit treatise ''[[Natya Shastra]]'' and other Sanskrit and Tamil texts, such as the ''[[Abhinaya Darpana]]''.<ref name="O'Shea2007p1"/><ref>{{cite journal | last=Meduri | first=Avanthi | title=Bharatha Natyam-What Are You? | journal=Asian Theatre Journal | publisher=University of Hawaii Press | volume=5 | issue=1 | year=1988 | pages=2–3 | doi=10.2307/1124019 | jstor=1124019 }}</ref>

The solo artist (''ekaharya'') in Bharatanatyam is dressed in a colorful [[sari]], adorned with jewelry and presents a dance and it is synchronized with Indian classical music.<ref name="O'Shea2007p1"/> The hand and facial gestures are a coded [[sign language]] able to recite legends and spiritual ideas from the ''[[Mahabharata]]'', the ''[[Ramayana]]'', the [[Puranas]] and historic drama texts.<ref name="O'Shea2007p1"/><ref name="meduri1"/> The dancer deploys turns or specific body movements to mark punctuations in the story or the entry of a different character in the play or legend being acted out through dance. ''[[Abhinaya]]'' is the art of expression in [[Indian aesthetics]]; footwork, body language, postures, musical notes, the tones of the vocalist, aesthetics and costumes integrate to express and communicate the underlying text.<ref name="O'Shea2007p1">{{cite book|author=Janet O'Shea|title=At Home in the World: Bharata Natyam on the Global Stage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4CfA4uDwCKwC |year=2007|publisher=Wesleyan University Press|isbn=978-0-8195-6837-3 |pages=1–3, 26, 85–86 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Meduri | first=Avanthi | title=Bharatha Natyam-What Are You? | journal=Asian Theatre Journal | publisher=University of Hawaii Press | volume=5 | issue=1 | year=1988 | pages=1–22 | doi=10.2307/1124019 | jstor=1124019 }}</ref>

In modern adaptations, Bharatanatyam dance troupes may involve many dancers who play specific characters in a story, creatively choreographed to ease the interpretation and expand the experience by the audience.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Katrak | first=Ketu H. | title=Cultural Translation of Bharata Natyam into Contemporary Indian Dance. Second-generation South Asian Americans and cultural politics in diasporic locations | journal=South Asian Popular Culture | volume=2 | issue=2 | year=2004 | pages=79–102 | doi=10.1080/1474668042000275699 | s2cid=144136967 }}</ref>

The repertoire of Bharatanatyam, like all major classical Indian dance forms, follows the three categories of performance in the ''Natya Shastra''. These are ''Nritta'' (Nirutham), ''Nritya'' (Niruthiyam) and ''Natya'' (Natyam).<ref name=meduri1>{{cite journal | last=Meduri | first=Avanthi | title=Bharatha Natyam-What Are You? | journal=Asian Theatre Journal | publisher=University of Hawaii Press | volume=5 | issue=1 | year=1988 | pages=3–4 | doi=10.2307/1124019 | jstor=1124019 }}</ref>

{{Quote box
| quote = '''The purpose'''<br />
Bharata Natyam is an art which consecrates the body (...)<br />the dancer, who dissolves her identity in rhythm and music, makes her body an instrument, at least for the duration of the dance, for the experience and expression of the spirit.<br />The traditional order of Bharata Natyam recital viz. ''alarippu'', ''jatiswaram'', ''varnam'', ''padams'', ''tillana'' and the ''[[shloka]]'' is the correct sequence in the practice of this art, which is an artistic [[Yoga]], for revealing the spiritual through the corporeal.
| source = [[Balasaraswati]], a devadasi<ref name=tbalasaras3>T Balasaraswati (1976), Bharata Natyam, ''NCPA Quarterly Journal'', Volume 4, Issue 4, page 3</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Meduri | first=Avanthi | title=Bharatha Natyam-What Are You? | journal=Asian Theatre Journal | publisher=University of Hawaii Press | volume=5 | issue=1 | year=1988 | pages=7–8 | doi=10.2307/1124019 | jstor=1124019 }}</ref>
| bgcolor = #FFE0BB
| width = 36%
| align = right
}}
*The ''Nritta'' performance is an abstract, fast, and rhythmic aspect of the dance.<ref name=koskoff955/> The viewer is presented with pure movement in Bharatanatyam, wherein the emphasis is the beauty in motion, form, speed, range, and pattern.<ref name=meduri1/> This part of the repertoire has no interpretative aspect, no telling of the story. It is a technical performance and aims to engage the senses (Prakriti) of the audience.<ref name="Descutner2010p45">{{cite book|author=Janet Descutner|title=Asian Dance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8tCYjXOtkdgC |year=2010|publisher=Infobase|isbn=978-1-4381-3078-1|pages=45–46}}</ref>
*The ''Nritya'' is a slower and more expressive aspect of the dance that attempts to communicate feelings, and storyline, particularly with spiritual themes in Hindu dance traditions.<ref name=koskoff955>{{cite book|author=Ellen Koskoff|title=The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: The Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=73MO0eiQD_EC&pg=PA955 |year=2008|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-99404-0 |pages=955 }}</ref> In a ''nritya'', the dance-acting expands to include silent expression of words through gestures and body motion set to musical notes. The actor articulates a legend or a spiritual message. This part of a Bharatanatyam repertoire is more than sensory enjoyment, it aims to engage the emotions and mind of the viewer.<ref name=meduri1/><ref name="Descutner2010p45"/>
*The ''Natyam'' is a play, typically a team performance,<ref name=kjayakrishnan25/> but can be acted out by a solo performer where the dancer uses certain standardized body movements to indicate a new character in the underlying story. A ''Natya'' incorporates the elements of a ''Nritya''.<ref name=meduri1/>

=== Arangetram ===
[[File:Bharatanatyan Student with Guru.jpg|thumb|Bharatanatyan Student with Guru in Arangetram Ceremony<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shivam Natyalaya - Bharatnatyam School |url=https://www.facebook.com/ShivamNatyalaya |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=www.facebook.com |language=en}}</ref>]]
A Bharatanatyam [[Arangetram (dance)|arangetram]] is a solo debut performance that signifies the completion of initial formal training of a young dancer, female or male in Indian classical dance. The term ''Arangetram'' translates to "ascending the stage". This performance is typically done ten to twelve years after a dancer begins learning Bharatanatyam. Still, more importantly, it is done when the [[guru]] believes the student is ready for a solo performance. This solo debut is synonymous with a "coming-of-age" celebration. The arangetram is a culmination of multiple years of hard work by the student and the guru, and it is an opportunity for the dancer to showcase his or her dedication and skills developed over the years. Throughout this debut, the dancer performs a series of dances. The dancer must build up his or her concentration and stamina to perform solo dances for approximately three hours. Each dance performed symbolizes various aspects of [[Hinduism|Hindu religion]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Chatterjee|first=Jagyaseni|date=2016-12-08|title=Much ado about a debut|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/Much-ado-about-a-debut/article16777939.ece|access-date=2021-09-27|issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2009-05-13|title=Arangetram|url=http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01260/arangetram.html|access-date=2021-09-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513051757/http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01260/arangetram.html|archive-date=13 May 2009}}</ref>

==== 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]]

===Costume and attire===

The costume of a female Bharatanatyam dancer resembles a Tamil Hindu bridal dress. It typically consists of a [[sari]] in bright colors with golden or silver ''[[zari]]'' embroidery on the borders. The costume can be stitched from the ''[[sari]]'', with individual pieces for a bottom (either a skirt or ''[[salwar]]''-shaped pants), a pleated piece which falls in front and opens like a [[hand fan]] when the dancer flexes her knees or performs footwork, a hip piece that covers the seat of the pant/skirt, and a torso piece that looks like an ''aanchal'' (i.e. the draped part of a regular sari). Some dancers also opt for an '''unstitched''' ''sari'' that is draped specially, with the single piece of cloth starting around the legs like a ''[[dhoti]]'', then upwards along the front torso, over the left shoulder, and then down the back with its end held at the waist by a jeweled belt.<ref>{{cite book|author=Anjani Arunkumar|title=Compositions for Bharatanāṭyam: A Soulful Worship of the Divine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3UXkAAAAMAAJ |year=1989| publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|pages=xxi–xxii}}</ref> The costume of a male Bharatanatyam dancer is usually either a ''sari'' or a white cotton cloth draped around the legs and bottom half of the body like a ''dhoti''. During performances, the upper body of the male dancer remains bare. Male dancers typically do not wear stitched costumes.

Both female and male dancers wear elaborate jewelry on their ears, nose, neck, and wrists. Female dancers wear additional jewelry on their heads that emphasizes their hairline and parting. They also wear a smaller piece of jewelry on each side of their parting. These represent the sun and the moon.

Long hair on both male and female dancers is either secured by a bun or a braid. Female dancers with short hair often use braid extensions or bun hair pieces to simulate long hair. Female dancers also wear imitation flowers made of either cloth or paper around their braids or buns. These are known as (or ''[[gajra]]'').

Both male and female dancers wear makeup, including foundation, blush, lipstick, and thick eyeliner or [[Kohl (cosmetics)|kohl]], which helps the audience see and understand their facial expressions.<ref name="Ravindranath1980p75"/>

All dancers wear leather anklets on each foot, which are called ''salangai'' or ''[[ghungroo]]s''.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Gurcharan Singh Randhawa|author2=Amitabha Mukhopadhyay|title=Floriculture in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bQCIZoKDG1kC |year=1986|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=978-81-7023-494-4 |pages=607–608 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Swarajya Prakash Gupta|author2=Krishna Lal|author3=Mahua Bhattacharyya|title=Cultural tourism in India: museums, monuments & arts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QNeAAAAAMAAJ|year=2002|publisher=Indraprastha Museum of Art and Archaeology |isbn=978-81-246-0215-7|pages=198 }}</ref> These are made of small bells attached to a broad leather strap with belts that secure them at the back of the ankle. The bells are arranged in uniform rows and can be heard when the dancer moves their feet. The ''salangai'' helps emphasize the rhythm of the music as well as the dancer's footwork.

Lastly, all dancers outline their hands and feet with red ''kumkum'' powder or [[alta (dye)|alta]], a tradition that helps the audience easily see their hand and foot gestures.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Maratt Mythili Anoop|author2=Varun Gulati|title=Scripting Dance in Contemporary India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8aE8CwAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-1-4985-0552-9 |pages=96 }}</ref>

For classes, training, practice, or rehearsals, dancers traditionally wear a special dance sari. These saris are always cotton and have a shorter breadth than normal saris, falling at the knees rather than the ankles. These are paired with cotton pyjamas and blouses. The sari is worn with pleats at the front and tied tightly around the torso and hips. However, in recent times, dancers also opt for [[Shalwar kameez|salwar kameez]] or athletic wear (like T-shirts and leggings) when not performing.<ref>{{cite web |last=Desifaves |title=Dance Practice Attire: Comfort Rooted in Tradition |url=https://www.desifaves.com/the-evolution-of-bharatanatyam-from-devadasis-to-the-global-stage/ |website=Desifaves |date=2025-04-08 |access-date=2025-04-08}}</ref>

The accompanying music to Bharatanatyam is in the [[Carnatic music|Carnatic]] style of [[South India]], as is the recitation and chanting.<ref>{{cite book|author=Siyuan Liu|title=Routledge Handbook of Asian Theatre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H1iFCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA132 |year=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-27886-3 |pages=132 }}</ref> The vocalist is called ''nattuvanar'', typically also the conductor of the entire performance, who may be the [[guru]] of the dancer and may also be playing cymbals or one of the musical instruments.<ref name="Sinha2006p10">{{cite book|author=Aakriti Sinha|title=Let's Know Dances of India|url=https://lakshmidanceacademy.com/ |year=2010|publisher=lakshmidanceacademy|isbn=978-81-7650-097-5 |pages=10–11}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=TM Krishna|title=A Southern Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WqvRBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT148 |year=2013|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers|isbn=978-93-5029-822-0 |pages=147–148 }}</ref> The recited verses and text in Bharatanatyam are in [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]], [[Kannada]] and [[Sanskrit]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Rosenblatt Louis|author2=Sanford B. Steever|title=The Dravidian Languages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n2DxBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA2 |year=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-91164-4 |pages=2 }}</ref>

The instruments used include the [[mridangam]] (double-sided drum), [[nadaswaram]] (long type of oboe made from black wood), nattuvangam (cymbals), the [[flute]], [[violin]] and [[veena]].<ref name="Sinha2006p10"/><ref name="Ravindranath1980p75">{{cite book|author=P. K. Ravindranath|title=Bhavaṁ, ragaṁ, talam, natyaṁ: a hand-book of Indian dance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cBP0AAAAMAAJ|year=1980|publisher=Savita Damodaran Arengetra Samiti|page=75}}</ref>

===Symbolism===

Bharatanatyam, like all classical dances of India, uses symbolism in its ''[[abhinaya]]'' (acting) and its goals. The roots of ''abhinaya'' appear in the ''[[Natya Shastra]]'' text, which defines drama in verse 6.10 as something that aesthetically arouses joy in the spectator, through the medium of the actor's art of communication, that helps connect and transport the individual into a sensual inner state of being.{{Sfn|Tarla Mehta|1995|p=3}} A performance art, asserts ''Natya Shastra'', connects the artists and the audience through ''abhinaya'' (literally, "carrying to the spectators"), that is applying body-speech-mind and scene, wherein the actors communicate to the audience, through song and music.{{Sfn|Tarla Mehta|1995|p=3}} Drama in this ancient Sanskrit text, thus is an art that engages every aspect of life to glorify and give a state of joyful consciousness.{{Sfn|Tarla Mehta|1995|p=5}}

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The communication through symbols is in the form of expressive gestures and pantomime set to music. The gestures and facial expressions convey the ''ras'' (sentiment, emotional taste) and ''bhava'' (mood) of the underlying story.<ref name="BajajVohra2015p82"/> In the Hindu texts on dance, the dancer successfully expresses the spiritual ideas by paying attention to four aspects of a performance: ''Angika'' (gestures and body language), ''Vachika'' (song, recitation, music and rhythm), ''Aharya'' (stage setting, costume, makeup, jewelry), and ''Sattvika'' (artist's mental disposition and emotional connection with the story and audience, wherein the artist's inner and outer state resonates).<ref name="BajajVohra2015p82">{{cite book|author1=Tanvi Bajaj |author2=Swasti Shrimali Vohra|title=Performing Arts and Therapeutic Implications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2MRcCgAAQBAJ |year=2015|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-32572-7 |pages=82–84}}</ref> ''Abhinaya'' draws out the ''bhava'' (mood, psychological states).<ref name="BajajVohra2015p82"/>

The gestures used in Bharatanatyam are called ''Hasta'' (or ''[[List of mudras (dance)|mudras]]''). These symbols are of three types: ''asamyuta hastas'' (single hand gestures), ''samyuta hastas'' (two hand gestures), and ''nrtta hastas'' (dance hand gestures).<ref name="BajajVohra2015p85"/> Like words in a glossary, these gestures are presented in the ''nritta'' as a list or embellishment to a prelim performance. In ''nritya'' stage of Bharatanatyam, these symbols set in a certain sequence become sentences with meaning, with emotions expressed through facial expressions and other aspects of ''abhinaya''.<ref name="BajajVohra2015p85">{{cite book|author1=Tanvi Bajaj |author2=Swasti Shrimali Vohra|title=Performing Arts and Therapeutic Implications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2MRcCgAAQBAJ |year=2015|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-32572-7 |pages=85–87}}</ref> The basic standing position is called as Aramandi.

Bharatanatyam contains at least 20 [[asana]]s found in [[modern yoga]], including [[Dhanurasana]] (the bow, a back-arch); [[Chakrasana]] (the wheel, a standing [[backbend|back-arch]]); [[Vrikshasana]] (the tree, a [[standing asanas|standing pose]]); and [[Natarajasana]], the pose of dancing Shiva.<ref name="Bhavanani 2001">{{cite web |last1=Bhavanani |first1=Ananda Balayogi |last2=Bhavanani |first2=Devasena |title=BHARATANATYAM AND YOGA |url=http://www.dhdi.free.fr/recherches/horizonsinterculturels/articles/bharatanatyamyoga.htm |date=2001 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061023215608/http://www.dhdi.free.fr/recherches/horizonsinterculturels/articles/bharatanatyamyoga.htm |archive-date=23 October 2006 |quote=He also points out that these [Bharatanatyam dance] stances are very similar to Yoga Asanas, and in the Gopuram walls at Chidambaram, at least twenty different classical Yoga Asanas are depicted by the dancers, including Dhanurasana, Chakrasana, Vrikshasana, Natarajasana, Trivikramasana, Ananda Tandavasana, Padmasana, Siddhasana, Kaka Asana, Vrishchikasana and others.}}</ref> 108 karanas of classical temple dance are represented in temple statuary; they depict the devadasi temple dancers who made use of yoga asanas in their dancing.<ref name="YJ 2007">{{cite journal |last1=Rea |first1=Shiva |title=The Divine Dance |journal=[[Yoga Journal]] |date=28 August 2007}}</ref> Bharatanatyam is also considered a form of [[Bhakti Yoga]].<ref name="YJ 2007"/> However, Natarajasana is not found in any medieval hatha yoga text; it was among the many asanas introduced into modern yoga by [[Krishnamacharya]] in the early 20th century.<ref>{{cite book | last=Goldberg | first=Elliott |author-link=Elliott Goldberg | title=The Path of Modern Yoga: the history of an embodied spiritual practice | publisher=Inner Traditions | location=Rochester, Vermont | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-62055-567-5 | oclc=926062252 | pages=223, 395–398}}</ref>

==Modern revival: schools and training centers==
Bharatanatyam rapidly expanded after India gained [[Indian Independence Act 1947|independence from British rule]] in 1947. It is now the most popular classical Indian dance style in India, enjoys a high degree of support in expatriate Indian communities, and is considered to be synonymous with Indian dance by many foreigners unaware of the diversity of dances and performance arts in Indian culture.<ref name="Leslie1992p149">{{cite book|author=Anne-Marie Gaston|editor=Julia Leslie|title=Roles and Rituals for Hindu Women|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sKDm8EH2L3kC |year=1992|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1036-5 |pages=149–150, 170–171 }}</ref> In the second half of the 20th century, Bharatanatyam has been to Indian dance tradition what [[ballet]] has been in the West.<ref name="Leslie1992p149"/>

When the British government tried to attempt to ban Bharatanatyam traditions, it went on and revived by moving outside the Hindu temple and religious ideas. However, post-independence, with rising interest in its history, the ancient traditions, the invocation rituals and the spiritually expressive part of the dance has returned.<ref name="Leslie1992p149"/> Many innovations and developments in modern Bharatanatyam, states Anne-Marie Geston, are of a quasi-religious type.<ref name="Leslie1992p149"/> Major cities in India now have numerous schools that offer lessons in ''Bharatanatyam'', and these cities host hundreds of shows every year.<ref>{{cite book|author=Anne-Marie Gaston|editor=Julia Leslie|title=Roles and Rituals for Hindu Women|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sKDm8EH2L3kC |year=1992|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1036-5 |pages=150–152 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Ester Gallo|title=Migration and Religion in Europe: Comparative Perspectives on South Asian Experiences|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TswFDAAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-09637-5 |pages=32–33}}</ref>

Outside India, Bharatanatyam is a sought-after and studied dance, states Meduri, in academic institutes in the [[United States]], [[Europe]], [[Canada]], [[Australia]], [[Arab states of the Persian Gulf|the Gulf States]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Malaysia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Bangladesh]] and [[Singapore]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=Meduri | first=Avanthi | title=Bharatanatyam as a Global Dance: Some Issues in Research, Teaching, and Practice | journal=Dance Research Journal  | volume=36 | issue=2 | pages=11–29 | year=2004 | doi=10.2307/20444589 | jstor=20444589 | s2cid=144784756 | url=https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/ws/files/455228/Meduri_2004_Bharatanatyam_as_a_Global_Dance_Dance_Research_Journal_36_2_Winter_2004_pp11_29.pdf }}</ref> For expat Indian and Tamil communities in many countries, it is a source and means for social life and community bonding.<ref>{{cite journal | last=O'Shea | first=Janet | title=At Home in the World? The Bharatanatyam Dancer As Transnational Interpreter | journal=TDR | publisher=MIT Press | volume=47 | issue=1 | year=2003 | pages=176–186 | doi=10.1162/105420403321250071 | s2cid=17824898 | url=http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/1658/1/fulltext.pdf }}</ref> Contemporary Bharatanatyam choreographies include both male and female dancers.<ref name="JonesRyan2006p107"/> In China, the dance has maintained its niche presence since the 1950s, with one of its earliest students, Zhang Jun, introducing [[Indian classical dance]] to China.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Feature: Dance your dance -- Chinese, Indian Bharatanatyam lovers bridge cultures |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-10/12/c_138464837.htm |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=[[Xinhua News Agency]]}}</ref> In 2024, the popularity of the dance reached a landmark moment in the country when a 13-year old Chinese student, Lei Muzi, performed Bharatanatyam [[Arangetram (dance)|Arangetram]]—the first such performance by a student fully trained by a Chinese teacher and performed in China.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-08-14 |title=13-year-old Chinese girl performs Bharatanatyam in China, scripts history with her dance |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/13yearold-chinese-girl-performs-bharatanatyam-in-china-scripts-history-with-her-dance-101723611701158.html |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240920144859/https://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/13yearold-chinese-girl-performs-bharatanatyam-in-china-scripts-history-with-her-dance-101723611701158.html |archive-date=2024-09-20 |access-date=2025-03-25 |work=Hindustan Times |language=en-us}}</ref>

In 2020, an estimated 10,000 dancers got together in [[Chennai]], India, to break the world record for the largest Bharatanatyam performance.<ref>{{cite web|title=Thousands of dancers mesmerize in world record attempt for largest Bharatanatyam performance|date=12 February 2020|format=Video|website=MSN|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/viral/thousands-of-dancers-mesmerize-in-world-record-attempt-for-largest-bharatanatyam-performance/vi-BBZUNRu?ocid=spartandhp}}</ref> The previous record of 7,190 dancers was set in [[Chidambaram]] in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|title=Over 7,000 Bharatanatyam dancers set a world record|date=4 March 2019|website=Daily News (Source: The Hindu)|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2019/03/04/world/179213/over-7000-bharatanatyam-dancers-set-world-record}}</ref>

==In cinema==
[[File:Rama Vaidyanathan au musée Guimet 2009.ogv|thumb|One movement in the Bharatanatyam by [[Rama Vaidyanathan]] at the [[Guimet Museum]] (2009).]]

# ''[[Senthamarai (film)|Senthamarai]]'' (Tamil, 1962)
# ''[[Thillana Mohanambal]]'' (Tamil, 1968)
# ''[[Paattum Bharathamum]]'' (Tamil, 1975)
# ''[[Sagara Sangamam]]'' (Telugu, 1983)
# ''[[Mayuri (film)|Mayuri]]'' (Telugu, 1985)
# ''[[Manichitrathazhu]]'' (Malayalam, 1993)
# ''[[Sringaram]]'' (Tamil, 2007)
# ''[[Kamaladalam]]'' (Malayalam, 1992)
#''Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal'' (Malayalam)

== See also ==

* [[Culture of India]]
* [[Vazhuvoor (Dance)|Vazhuvoor (dance)]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==

*Uttara Asha Coorlawala, ed. ''Re-presenting Indian Dance.'' Dance Research Journal. Congress on Research in Dance 36/2. Winter 2004. ISSN 0149-7677
*{{cite journal|author=Wallace Dace|title=The Concept of "Rasa" in Sanskrit Dramatic Theory|journal=Educational Theatre Journal|volume=15|issue=3|pages=249–254|year=1963|jstor=3204783|doi=10.2307/3204783}}
*{{cite book |first=Alain |last=Danielou |title=Shilappadikaram (The Ankle Bracelet) by Iḷaṅkōvaṭikaḷ| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uu3QelRpmsgC|year =1965|publisher=New Directions Publishing, New York|isbn=978-0-8112-0001-1}}
*{{cite book|author=Ragini Devi|title=Dance Dialects of India|url=https://archive.org/details/dancedialectsofi0000ragi |url-access=registration|year=1990 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0674-0}}
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*{{cite book|last=Fergusson |first=James |title=The Caves Temples of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5YqEFKdU8FEC&pg=PA405|year=1880|publisher=W. H. Allen|access-date=2 April 2016}}
*Douglas M. Knight, Jr. ''Balasaraswati: Her Art and Life''. Wesleyan University Press. Middletown, CT, 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-8195-6906-6}}
*Sunil Kothari, ''Bharata Natyam,'' Marg Publications, Mumbai: 1997.
*{{cite book|author=Natalia Lidova|publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |doi=10.1093/obo/9780195399318-0071 |title=Natyashastra }}
*{{cite book|author=Natalia Lidova |title=Drama and Ritual of Early Hinduism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TKarwqJJP0C |date=1994 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1234-5 }}
*{{cite book|author=Tarla Mehta|title=Sanskrit Play Production in Ancient India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l7naMj1UxIkC|year=1995|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1057-0}}
*{{cite book|last=Michell|first=George l|title=Temple Architecture and Art of the Early Chalukyas: Badami, Mahakuta, Aihole, Pattadakal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-1TroAEACAAJ|date=15 October 2014|publisher=Niyogi Books|isbn=978-93-83098-33-0}}
*Narayanan Chittoor Namboodiripad, "Revealing the Art of Natyasastra." {{ISBN|9788121512183}}
*Srividya Natarajan Another Stage in the Life of the Nation: Sadir, Bharatanatyam, Feminist Theory. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Dept of English, University of Hyderabad, 1997.
*{{cite book|author=Emmie Te Nijenhuis |author-link=Emmie te Nijenhuis |title=Indian Music: History and Structure |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NrgfAAAAIAAJ |year=1974|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-03978-3 }}
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*Vijaya Rao, (1987), Abbild des Göttlichen. Bharata Natyam. Der klassische Indische Tanz. Freiburg (Germany)
*{{cite book|first1=Farley P. |last1=Richmond |first2=Darius L. |last2=Swann |first3=Phillip B. |last3=Zarrilli |title=Indian Theatre: Traditions of Performance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OroCOEqkVg4C |year=1993 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0981-9}}
*{{cite book|author=Kapila Vatsyayan |title=Bharata, the Nāṭyaśāstra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zKW1PAAACAAJ |year=2001|publisher=Sahitya Akademi |isbn=978-81-260-1220-6}}
*{{cite book| author=Kapila Vatsyayan |title=Classical Indian dance in literature and the arts |year=1977 |publisher=Sangeet Natak Akademi |oclc=233639306}}, [http://library.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/toc/z2008_2719.pdf Table of Contents]
*{{citation| author=Kapila Vatsyayan |title=Indian classical dance |year=1974 |publisher=Sangeet Natak Akademi |oclc=2238067 }}
*{{cite book| author=Kapila Vatsyayan |title=Aesthetic theories and forms in Indian tradition |year=2008 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |oclc=286469807| isbn=978-8187586357}}
*{{cite book| author=Kapila Vatsyayan |title=Dance In Indian Painting |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58fUibaZdGYC |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-153-9}}
*{{cite journal|last=Williams|first=Drid|title=In the Shadow of Hollywood Orientalism: Authentic East Indian Dancing|url=http://jashm.press.illinois.edu/12.3/12-3IntheShadow_Williams78-99.pdf|journal=Visual Anthropology|volume=17|issue=1|year=2004|pages=69–98|publisher=Routledge|doi=10.1080/08949460490274013|s2cid=29065670|access-date=26 July 2016|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304121105/http://jashm.press.illinois.edu/12.3/12-3IntheShadow_Williams78-99.pdf|url-status=dead}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Bharatanatyam}}
{{Wikiquote}}

{{Dance in India}}
{{Hindudharma}}
{{Karnataka topics}}
{{Authority control}}

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