Kathak
Kathak
is the most prominent classical dance of Northern India.
The word Kathak is derived from Sanskrit and relates
to the telling of stories through mime and dance. Traditionally
it is a solo classical dance genre in which the dancer
represents all the characters of a story through a language
of gestures, facial expressions and graceful movements
of the limbs.
Kathak
dance is mainly based on Nritta and Nrittya. Nritta
means pure dance without any meaning, is the technical
part focusing on a tremendous sense of rhythm and joy
of movement. The beauty of this part of Kathak lies,
therefore, in the exact rendering of the rhythmic patterns,
made audible by musical accompaniment and the dancer's
intricate footwork. Nrittya emphasises Abhinaya, communication
of the meaning and emotion of a story or a song, through
facial expression, gestures of the hands and symbolic
postures of the body.
In
the Kathak genre the movement is not rigidly prescribed
but allows the artist to use a variety of free movements,
thus leaving interpretation of the poem or story to
the artist's power of rhythmical improvisation, imagination
and creativity.
The
stories performed come from many sources in Indian literature,
the most ancient being those from the great epics Ramayana
and Mahabharata. Many stories and songs of medieval
origin are in praise of Lord Krishna.
Though
originally inspired by religion, the Mughal courts and
the Rajputh period in Northern India greatly influenced
the development of the art form. A shift from religious
commitment to entertainment became predominant in the
courts. The rhythmical patterning and embodiment of
romantic poetry were given prominence to please kings
and courtesans. During this time, the different schools
of Kathak developed such as those in Lucknow, Jaipur
and Benares.
The
main instruments used with Kathak dance are the tabla
(two drums), harmonium, sarangi (a stringed instrument
played with a bow), flute, and sometimes violin and
sitar are used.
|
