In South India we have Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Mohiniattam and Kathakali. In general Bharatanatyam is from Tamilnadu, Kuchipudi from Andhra, Mohiniattam and Kathakali from Kerala. In the North they have Kathak, Oddisi, and Manipuri etc. Nowaday there’re are no specific areas and anyone can learn any form of dance as long as they have a passion. The God of Dance is Lord Nataraja the presiding deity of Chidambaram in Tamilnadu. The Hindu dance originated form Lord Siva’s dance the Siva Tandavam. The book on the system of dance is called Natya Sastra and is written by Bharata Muni. The Hindu dance is linked with emotions. There are nine rasas and are called Navarasa wherein the dancer depicts through expressions. They are like, hasyam,vatsalyam, srungara, krodam etc. The dance is supported by a musical team and the coordination adds colour to the recital. In olden days only a sect of people danced in the temples and they were called the Deva Daasis, now the knowledge exposure a person interest in the specific art takes up and performs. It is a costly art as the costumes get worn out very soon due to sweat and the jewellery called temple jewellery. The dance consists of three aspects the mudras – gestures shown by the hands, abhinaya – facial expressions,and Jathi – the intricate footwork. The general items performed at a Bharatanatyam recital are Alaripu, Jatiswaram,Varnam – the main piece, Javali or Padam and Thillana to conclude. It’s a two hour programme generallyl and if the artist performs with full involvement its really a feast to the eyes.

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