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India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world with varied ethnicity, traditions and languages. Many forms of art have originated and prospered in the sub-continent. Dance is also one of the arts that have traveled the course of the time. India has given birth to many dance forms. One interesting facet about Indian culture is, different regions have given different range of dance forms. There are numerous classical, tribe and folk dances in India. All these dances are typical to particular Indian regions. Even the make up and costumes differ from one region to another. The classical dances of Indian follow certain rules that have continued to exist since centuries.
Indian classical dance forms have garnered fame and popularity all across the world. The sheer class and tradition of these dances have kept them in the list of most watched dance forms. The major classical dance forms of India are; Bharatnatyam - Tamil Nadu, Kuchipudi- Andhra Pradesh, Odissi – Orissa, Kathak - Uttar Pradesh, Manipuri – Manipur, Kathakali – Kerala and Mohiniattam – Kerala. The origin period of these dances can be traced back to 1300-1400 A.D.
Six classical dance styles have primarily evolved last 2000 years of Indian history. Natyashastra by Bharata was the foundation of Indian dance forms. It’s slightly difficult to establish the exact publication period of this book but tentatively the period between 200 BC and AD 200 has been agreed upon by the researchers. All of these classical dance forms have developed a particular form of musical set up along with make-up for the performance.
Musical instruments used in these dance forms are distinctly different from each other and so is the make up used by dancers. All the classical dance schools in India have incorporated special chapters for make up and costume designing. The costumes used are designed keeping in mind traditional flavor. Even jewels are designed specifically for each of the dance forms.
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