TEACHING METHODS

BHARATANATYAM- BASIC STEPS FOR BEGINNERS

All great performers will be great teachers too. One must have an aptitude for teaching, patience and the skill of initiation to train kids and others who are new to it. Every classical dance form is different from each other but ultimately the intention of all are the same. If you are given proper guidance from a knowledgeable Guru, it doesn’t matter which dance form you are learning..

Bhratanatyam has three distinct streams or aspects:

Nritta
which means pure dance steps or dance sequences that are performed rhythmically. These movements and gestures do not convey any mood or thought. Their sole purpose is to create beauty. Adavus – which are the basic steps in Bharatanatyam- form the basic component of Nritta.

Nrittya
involves interpretation and is the mime that corresponds to the song accompanied by music and song. This aspect of Bharatanatyam involves showing emotions, sentiments and to convey a message through steps, movements and gestures.

Natya
is the art of storytelling through dance. Natya is the dramatic representation and the technique involved here is called “Abhinaya”. The dancer through steps, gestures, movements and expressions, enacts a storyAs mentioned before Adavus are the initial steps in Bharatanatyam which form the basic component of Nritta.

Just like how alphabets mean a lot to a language, Adavus mean a lot to a Bharatanatyam dancer or student.
They are steps that are combined to form a dance sequence and are done in synchronization with the syllables. An Adavu is a combination of –

1. Sthaanam ( The position of the legs)
2. Mandalam (The position of standing)
3. Chaari (The movement)
4. Nritta hasta (The hand gestures)

Before we discuss the Adavus, we would like to shed light on some of the most important components of Bharatanatyam.

Namaskara
The most important component of Bharatanatyam is “Namaskara”. Namaskara means paying respect to god, your teacher, your audience when you perform and most importantly to mother earth since you will be stomping on her while dancing.

Araimandi
Araimandi is the fundamental posture of Bharatanatyam. It is also known as Ardhamandala, Ukkaramandala, Ayatam or the half-sitting posture. It is written in the Natyashastra that in Araimandi, the distance between the head and the navel becomes equal to that of the earth and the navel.

Here are some of the basic steps for beginners-

Tatta Adavu
Tatta Adavus are the first Adavus that you would learn in your Bharatanatyam beginners class. Tatta means to strike or to tap in Tamil. Watch the videos below to learn and understand these steps better.

Then you start learning ‘Nattadavu’, where simple hand movements, eye movements and mudras are being introduces. In that way, you proceed further, step by step, into more complex movements which makes use of all your body parts, eyes, with movement etc. that you won’t even realize how much you have advanced! Once your body has been trained in Bharathanatyam system, it is easier to follow any other classical dance form. Most of the other dance forms, from my view point, the steps moves into complex ones quite quickly and you may find it difficult being a newbie.

All said and done, do start learning any classical dance form! You will find it the best decision of your life as all classical dance forms just brings out the outer and the inner beauty in you!