Q+Ans: What book will you follow if you are being asked to perform a classical dance and state which of these dance forms you would like to learn and why?
Answers
Answer:
Most of the classical dance forms originated in temples. Worshipping was the main aim. Although every dance form evolved from different regions, their roots are the same. The roots can be traced from the Sanskrit text – ‘Natya Shastra’. The first compilation of Natya Shastra is dated between 200BCE and 200CE.
As time passed, artists improvised many classical dances which resulted in the present day forms. Today, Indian classical dances are very popular dance all over the world.
Rasanubhuti: The 8 Rasas
The Rasanubhuti is the ultimate aim of these dance forms. Natya Shastra speaks of Eight Rasas. They are as following:
Shringar: Love
Hasya: Humorous
Karuna: Sorrow
Raudra: Anger
Veer: Heroism
Bhayanak: Fear
Bibhats: Disgust
Adbhoot: Wonder
Note: Later Abhinav Gupta added a ninth one to it, Shanta: Peace.
What are classical dances?
Unlike folk dances, classical dances are all about technicalities and strict rules. Acharya Nandikeshawara’s ‘Abhinaya Darpan’ and Sharangdev’s ‘Sangeeth Ratnakar’ (Nartanadhyaya), along with the Natya Shastra forms the foundation of technicalities of all the classical dance forms (which includes their body movements, rasa, bhava etc).