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Its an extremely
spiritual dance and is known to derive its roots from Bhakti.
Bharatnatyam is set to Carnatic Music. Carnatic music is different from
Hindustani music. Bharatnatyam is said to embody music as dance without
music isn’t possible.
During the medieval
ages in South Indian history, the rajas were the main patrons of the
temples that were there in their kingdom. This is the reason that the
temples became very rich. It was common for many temples to have many
devdasis attached to them. Devdasis means females who were meant to
serve the deities in the temple.
They had no family
and were considered to bee earthly consorts of the male deities. The
Devdasis were supposed to dance without any inhibition for their Gods.
They were initiated in music and bharatnatyam from a very early age.
Since the temples
had patronage form the Kings, many devdasis also became royal dancers
of raj nartakis performing the dance for an audience. Contemporary
Bharatnatyam ballets are meant for entertainment, but in Natya Shastra
they are meant for pure spiritual pleasure meant to elevate the
spectators to the next level. It included both the feminine grace and
the tandava (male) style.
Modernizing
the dance
In the modern times, E. Krishna Iyer and Rukmini Devi Arundale have
been instrumental in modernizing the dance. They have modified the
Pandallur style and removed many objectionable dance steps to make it
more acceptable to audiences worldwide.
The debut of a
Bharatnatyam dancer happens when they perform their arangetram. Now all
performances are held in auditoriums with live music and live audience,
where it was held only in temples. It’s a very beautiful dance and
people are mesmerized by it.
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