Intro to Indian Dance

"Introduction to Indian Dance" is a nine-minute video developed by the Editors of Hinduism Today Magazine in collaboration Bharatanatyam dancer Shivani Thakkar of Los Angeles and Dr. Shiva Bajpai, Professor Emeritus of History, California State University Northridge, Los Angeles. Funded by a grant from Uberoi Foundation. Filmed at the Malibu Hindu Temple.
The video covers in brief the history of Indian classical dance, a comparison with Western ballet style, hand gestures of Bharatanatyam, methods of character depiction, choreography and story telling, abstract dance, and clips of many other styles of Indian dance. This is the first installment in our Teach Indic Culture series of short videos intended for K-12 school use and adaptable to Common Core teaching methods.
Produced by Gabriel Bruskoff
Executive Producer and Narrator, Roger (Raj) Narayan
Directed by Mainak Dhar
Performed and Choreographed by Shivani Thakkar
Director of Photography, Fidencio Casas
Editor, Mragendra Singh
"Bho Sambho"
Performed by Padmabhushan awardee Sangita Kalanidhi Sudha Ragunathan
Courtesy of Sangita Kalanidhi Sudha Ragunathan
www.sudharagunathan.com
Snippet at 01:15 from Shastram Video:
Produced by Shastram
Director Ghirija Jayarraj Cinematography Pradeep Kalipurayath.
Artists Shruthi KP and Prabal Gupta

[@nidiazmil]

Namaste from Colombia!!, nice video i love the indian culture and i am a beginner dancer of bharatanatyam. More videos please !

[@teachermariasanz6514]

Beautiful! I'd like to dance Odissi Dance. Namaste! from Venezuela.

[@frankmaclow2709]

Very interesting ! Thank you ! Indian culture is fascinating. It is one of the oldest culture still existing on Earth. Induism is as old as ancient greek mythology is ! I am an atheist but I love the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, not religiously, but culturally

[@catabasiis]

when he said and she showed the hand gestures it all clicked, now it makes so much sense!!!!! what a beautiful way to dance 😭

[@nithishnithish504]

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for posting this informative video about our Indian culture

[@TheProphet6661]

Holy moly this was a great video. It explained a lot of things I honestly didn't know were part of Indian dance. I enjoyed your vid but now it has left me with many more questions, wow. What a great culture, I've always been fascinated by the Indian culture ever since I was a child when my mother had an Indian boyfriend as well as a very successive Indian boss. So, I was pretty much thrown into it as a child due to these particular peoples' families and got to get an inside view from an outsider of what being Indian was like. Very fascinating and beautiful. Thanks for the vid!

[@KannapiranArjunan-vm2rq]

BHARATA NATYAM AND CARNATIC ISAI ARE TAMILAR PANPATTU KALAIKAL. Starting from Tolkappiyam 2300 years ago, tamil sanga literature texts like Pancha Marabu, Kooththa Nool, Bharata Senapathiyam have defined the grammar of classical dance. ‘Pancha Marabu‘by Arivanaar-which was also written almost the same time as Tholkaapiyam - describes in detail about music and dance. It talks about various hand gestures,abhinaya,kooththu,,naatyam.It also describes the letters to be used for jathis-tha,thi,tho,ki,k. Then there is ‘Kooththa nool‘ authored by Saaththanaar. This is the oldest available text on the grammar of classical dance.‘Kooththa Nool’ has two sections, ‘Suvai’ and ‘Thogai’ with 153 and 162 verses respectively and says that the sound, the letters and the music emanated from the Dance of the Lord. It also says that ‘Om’ is the beginning and the end for everything. The author seems like a good psychiatrist, philosopher and most importantly an intellectual. The link between human life and the Nava Rasaas have been described in detail by the author. Here is a verse form Koothanool. Tastes emerge from the feelings within and these are expressed as dance. Feeling is the soul, Taste is the Mind, and expression is the body’. அகம்உயிர் ஆகச் சுவைஉளம் ஆக இழைஉடல் ஆக இயல்வது கூத்து. It is a cryptic verse with very deep meanings but what was written nearly 2500 years ago holds good even now. And this is applicable to any art form. However, ‘Silappathigaaram‘-one of the five major epics in Tamizh-is considered to be a complete book on classical dance. ‘Silappathikaaram’ gives a perfect description about Classical Dance and Music. Though there are lot verses, I am giving below one sample verse that speaks volumes about the quality of the work. It says ‘One must start learning classical dance at the age of five without any compromise on Musical, Dance and Aesthetic Elements, practise rigorously for seven years and perform at the age of twelve.’ ஆடலும் பாடலும் அழகும் என்று இக் கூறிய மூன்றில் ஒன்று குறைவு படாமல் ஏழு ஆண்டு இயற்றி ஓர் ஈர் ஆண்டில் சூழ் கழல் மன்னற்குக் காட்டல் வேண்டி. However, it is the description about Classical Dance in ‘Silappadhigaaram’ that calls for special mention and appreciation. Ilango adigaL must have been a perfectionist. The author elaborates on the qualifications of a Dance Teacher, Percussionists,Vocalist,Flautist, and the person(s) playing the ancient instrument ‘Yaazh’. He deals with each and every aspect of dance starting from the vocalist, the lyricist, the percussionist, the instrumentalists. What amazes one is the way he has defined the structure of the stage. Not only has he given the dimensions of a stage but also that he has mentioned about the lighting, and the way the stage has to be decorated.

[@sandipsen3407]

Its a good video...a five star for it....but you were supposed to introduce the Indian dance which doesn't mean Bharatanatyam only.. there are 8 different types of main Classical dance forms in our nation. So, I think (I mean its my personal view) that you should talk more about the other dance forms rather than just showing their videos.... And please don't take it personal because I think we should make people understand properly about the culture and heritage of our great India, not only to the people of this nation but the people around the world.

[@PeachyMushroom]

Sometimes it is difficult to do justice to so many different dance forms in a single program or video. It would be best if he did a separate video covering each of the 8 forms. Focusing only on Bharatnatyam gives the viewer a chance to really familiarize with the mechanics of classical dance up close on just one form, and not get too confused looking at all others in a quick succession. Also, just focusing on one form introduces the viewer to the full costumes, music, aesthetics of that particular form. It will remain in the mind more fresh. Although, I do agree, we ought to give lots more coverage to the exquisite art of all tne other dance forms just the same, and really learn to appreciate them all fully.

[@fahimzahir9587]

Wow...I Never knew that the hand gestures meant something...That bit of context..changed it from a seemingly nice dance to a whole new perspective to story telling and..made the dance so much more beautiful.

[@robertschlesinger1342]

Excellent introduction to classical Indian dance.

[@charleswey4895]

The hand gestures are called Mudras and Mudras with the hand and leg movement are called Karanas.

[@PRINCESS2527]

This is cool...I wanna dance now !!

[@jaguary412]

Indian Dance， Beautiful and interesting, Love it.

[@ektasaini3690]

U forgot main dance from north. “Kathak “

[@rice9380]

Thank u i needed this for school

[@B-Nidhi]

Really sufficient information get acknowledged about Indian classical dance thanks you sir

[@hitesh944]

This is so beautiful n academic in nature.. Osm presentation of the content.

[@smitalenka3004]

Beautifully explained👏👏

[@donyitasing3820]

Beautiful and very informative.

[@jozefmak1268]

This is just AMAZING!! What a culture !!! Thx for great video!

[@eliyapan]

this is good for us know about India dancing thank you^^

[@shradhasuman4361]

Namastey 🙏 thank you from bottom of my heart ...I am a Bharatnatyam dancer....

[@djtblizzle]

Very cool! I love Indian dance and music! So detailed and colorful!!

[@sritam5305]

Indian dance is not only Bharat natyam, there are many forms

[@ks-cf9mn]

Awesome and beautiful explanation of the expression.. 👌👌😊🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@nivaskumar9464]

what a great work and contribution both of you doing.....salute you sir and maam.

[@seemarekhaborah7167]

Thank you so much Sir

[@sarahbahrami1984]

Thank you so much, it was very good

[@sunk785]

Brother I just wanted to inform you one more ancient dance form missing in this list that is perini " Perini Sivatandavam " its origin from Telangana state.

[@priyankanair6465]

Thank you for this beautiful video .. wonderful presentation

[@souparnapatra4054]

Thanks Sir, for sharing such valuable facts. As a student of Performing Arts this will help me a lot.

[@592lala]

Very intresting Thank you for shareing

[@mirtikaschultz3282]

Delightful. What wonderful, expressive dancing.

[@tffb8454]

these is treasure .. hi from algeria

[@a.r.hollowayauthor7210]

Very well done thank you!

[@vidamrita]

Beautiful!!! Thank you for this wonderful introduction

[@tweentycenturyrock]

Amazing video

[@hrangarao5075]

Beautiful.A very lucid presentation and a visual feast.Thank you all.

[@anthonyorafferty5632]

Great introduction to Indian dance -Thank you

[@MigsMind]

Thank you this was very informative!

[@leeisntavailable3258]

who else was bought here by their dance teacher

[@SophieGlow]

Me

[@rashellmiramontes4582]

me :/

[@tristanbackup2536]

I came here from a few Indian memes to Odissi dancing to now this. 😂

[@jam-ss2jc]

@@tristanbackup2536 odissi is perhaps the most elegant classical dance form of India. What meme led you to Odissi?

[@harshnaik6989]

Wow! thank you sir.

[@daizybhadresha5167]

Very beautiful presentation!!😍😍

[@samadams219]

More videos please.

[@viveksharma3396]

BEST AND BEST

[@HimanshuVasava]

AMAZINGLY AWESOME LOVE INDIAN DANCE & CULTURE :-) PROUD TO BE

[@nothinghere626]

Wow

[@sekaion5914]

Wonderful video, very instructive.

[@L3onking]

Wow this is fantastic

[@rociobaezam6811]

thank

[@miss_kolissa]

That last story was beautiful with the elephant in the peacock🥰

[@lee-wy9th]

Wow!

[@royalmen666]

Well done. Enjoyed

[@Sanatani_kattar]

Thank you sir

[@p.amarin6093]

Ok, now I'm going to dance!!! :)

[@smileplease6658]

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

[@NabinChaudry]

Amazing..............🙏

[@Sonturist]

Very interesting

[@entrepreneursuccess565]

Her expression speakes

[@ManishKumar-qb2ev]

thanks

[@DharmaDeviByTheSoul]

Beautiful thank you

[@lazaroortiz1028]

Thanks!!!

[@vishwanathghorse5507]

beautiful

[@adiyoginiofficial]

I am both Kathak and Bharatanatyam practitioner 😍Im proud nd grateful to be indian.....each dance form is like deep ocean i wish i could experience other dance forms as well 🥺❤❤❤

[@shammigangaram5269]

amazing

[@mohammadmamunurrashid6769]

missing kathak

[@SJ-ws1bc]

Was thinking this as well, major dance form of India.

[@ravindrapasupuleti1680]

awmmm

[@creativebangali9319]

Wow

[@panteamaddah82]

Very nice

[@missdana296]

I want to learn Bharat Natyam.

[@JacquelineSoulchick]

So well-made!!!! Thank you! It's REALLY hard to find good educational videos on dance.