Bharatanatyam – Techniques

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Under two large heads, namely nritta and abhinaya, the Bharatanatyam technique can be debated. The element of nritta must be interpreted as a human movement technique while abhinaya is all about acting and expressions. The totally balanced, samabhanga position appears when the weight is evenly distributed. In cases where the opposite sides of the central median, called tribhanga or tribunga position, have just one deflection. The fact that it conceives of motion in space mostly along straight lines or in triangles is what is distinctive in Bharatanatyam. The first unit forms the head and the head's lateral gestures are normal. The chest is used as another unit, and the upper or lower torso is almost ever split up. The lower limbs are either seen in space as straight lines, or as two sides of an imaginary triangle. If the upper limbs follow the lower limbs or circular patterns weave around the area occupied by the lower limbs. It is the above feature that gives Bharatanatyam its particularity, along with the use of the torso as a single entity.

With the feet faced in front, the dancer starts with the samapada pose, which is the first fundamental position. The dancer's body is neither relaxed nor unduly taut. This is accompanied by sideways turning of the foot, which is known as the kalai tiruppudal. Then comes the role of the ardhamandali in which the feet are sideways and the legs bent sideways, as well. The ardhamandali is often termed as the ukkaramandali, the Tamil word ukkar literally meaning sitting.

Foot contact is important. The whole foot hits the ground in the first place and weight is spread evenly. On the land, the stamping of this flat foot is known as tattu. The second form of foot contact happens in the same position, when only the toes of one foot touch the ground and the heel is elevated; where the heel contacts the ground and the toe is raised, the third type of foot contact follows. These are the normal gestures in the place of Ardhamandali. The permutation and combination of these positions is then followed by the use of either one foot or both feet. The unit is referred to as the adavu, which appears as a synchronised sequence of movement of the feet, legs, torso, limbs, hands, neck, head and eyes. In the language of Natyasastra, the adavu is perhaps the nearest to the rhythm of motion called the karana.

These form the basis of the Bharatanatyam nritta technique, adavus. Each community is unique because of its original starting position and the way in which it uses the foot, the calf, the whole body. Adavus was divided into major groups through distinct family customs and oral traditions. Majorly nine adavus are considered which are further divided into several units. The adavus are like sentences in music set in sequential time and can be used in a metrical loop, a tala, giving rise to new varieties in a range of methods. Tatta Adavu, Nattu Adavu, Paraval Adavu, Tattimitti Adavu, Tirumanam Adavu, Murka Adavu Jati Adavu, Kuditamitta Adavu, and Mandi Adavu are the major nine adavus practiced.

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Sources- Kapila Vatsyayan. INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE. Publications Division. Kindle Edition.

NATYASHASTRA by Bharata Muni, translated into english by Manomohan Ghosh