BART 22A21 - Moving and bringing together timeless stories of god and goddess through Bharata Natyam

The aim of this atelier artistique is to discover together the basics of Bharata Natyam, its various technique, the Indian mythology around God and Goddess, and to focus on some mantras thanks to the hastas, the vocabulary of the hands. Bharata Natyam is the oldest traditional classsical dance, it originally comes from South India. It was firstly initiated in a Hindu temple. Hindu and Indian mythology share a profound bond with Bharata Natyam. Bharata Natyam can be divided into three parts: Nritta (pure dance), Nritya (codified aesthetic and narrative dance movement and expression) and Natya (expression). We will focus on learning a modified version of Alarippu, which is traditionally the first dance piece that Bharata Natyam dancers learn and perform. Each class will be divided as follows: - History, focus on a God or a Goddess; - Stretching/yoga; - Work on the adavus (the basic rhythmic unit of the dance in a specific tempo and time structure with composite movements belonging to the nritta). An adavu is the basic rhythmic unit of the dance in a specific tempo and time structure involving composite movements belonging to the nritta; - Abhinaya, the art of expressive storytelling: the subtle work on the emotions, supported by singing, which allows the technique to be transcended, giving it grace and life; - Finishing with a mantra thanks to the Hasta Mudra. The aim of the course is to learn a small choreography, while studying the relationship between Bharata Natyam and Indian mythology. During each session, we will focus on specific historical parts and movement linked to Bharata Natyam, study some stories from Hindu epics, and the most important deities. I'm not a professional dancer, but I have been practising Bharata Natyam for over 20 years.

Charza SHAHABUDDIN

Atelier

English

Spring 2024-2025

To validate the course, the student is expected to pass the following assignments (at least three grades): 1°) Attendance (1/3) 2°) A short written exam (1/3) 3°) Learning the dance Alarippu (short dance) (1/3).