THAKA THIMI THA

Bharatanatyam is a divine form of art which according to me brings out and builds the entire personality of a person. It is the most ancient of all classical dances which is mainly practiced in Tamilnadu. It was nurtured in the temples and courts of southern India since ancient times. Later it was codified and documented as a performing art in the 19th century by four brothers known as the Tanjore Quartet whose musical compositions for dance form the bulk of the Bharata Natyam repertoire even today.

Due to its wide range of movements and postures and the balanced mélange of the rhythmic and mimetic aspects lends itself well to experimental and fusion choreography.
This dance form is a 20th century reconstruction of Cathir, the art of temple dancers. Cathir in turn, is derived from ancient dance forms. Bharatanatyam is usually accompanied by the classical Carnatic music. Bharatanatyam is considered to be a fire-dance — the mystic manifestation of the metaphysical element of fire in the human body. An authentic Baratanatyam dancer’s movements resemble that of a dancing fire. It is one of the five major styles (one for each element) that include Odissi (element of water), and Mohiniattam (element of air).

I being a holder of DIPLOMA in BHARATANATYAM from ILAKYA BHARATANATYALAYA, started learning this divine art right from childhood. It has given me a power to control my thoughts and maintain good physical health. It allows one to experience the maximum of expressions that the face muscles can render and thereby exercising them. This results in a natural glow of the face and purifies the mind.

THE MODERN FORM
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The present social status of Bharatanatyam can be vowed to E.Krishna Iyer. While the Pandanallur style, Tanjore or Thanjavur, Vazhuvoor, Mysore, Kancheepuram were based on the art of rajadasis and are exoteric in nature, some others, like the Melattur style and Balasaraswati's style grew out of the devadasis' distinctly different esoteric art. In the ancient days this form of art was mainly practised by devadasis’ but today it is practised even by people of all gender and religion.

AN AUTHENTIC DANCER

A good dancer must be elegant, having the sense of thalam(beat) and music, expressive eyes, slender and flexible body, confident and pleasing. A male or a female who has practiced the art of dance is said to have qualities which both physically and physiologically far outweigh those of a normal person.