Kathak Dance Style

Kathak Dance

 Kathak dance is originated from northern India. It is the major classical dances of India and one of the most dynamic theater arts in the world. The word kathak is derived from the Sanskrit word Katha ,which means "to tell a story". Kathak was primarily associated with an institution known as the tawaif. It was misunderstood institution of female entertainers, but this dance form traces its origins to the the nomadic bards which has    highest demand, standards of training, intelligence, and most important, civility . These bards, performing in village squares and temple courtyards, mostly specialized in recounting mythological and moral tales from the scriptures, and embellished their recitals with hand gestures and facial expressions. It was quintessential theatre, using instrumental and vocal music along with stylized gestures, to enliven the stories from slow to fast, ending with a dramatic climax. 

There are three main gharanas, or schools of kathak, named by according to the geographical area in which they developed. These are the Jaipur, Lucknow, and the Benares gharanas. Each has a slight difference in interpretation and repertoire

Costume - Costume sometimes consists of a saree,chudidaar kamij , lehenga-choli with an optional odhni or veil highly ornately decorated specifically which are greater freedom of movement during dance.

Music - Bansuri, Dilruba, Esraj, Ghungharu, Harmonium, Pakhawaj, Santur, Sarangi, Sarod, Sitar, Surmandal, Tabla, Tanpura are the musical instruments etc, which are used in dance form. The dancer begins with an invocation Vandana to dedicated the gods. The first introduction of spoken rhythmic pattern or bol in to the performance is Aamad means entry. Then Salaami which is a salutation to the audience in the Muslim style. The bols can be borrowed from tabla (e.g. dha, ge, na, 'ti' 'na' 'ka' 'dhi na') or can be a dance variety (ta, thei, tat, ta ta, tigda, digdig, tram theyi and so on). A footwork composition consisting of variations on a theme, and ending in a tiha. Tihai, usually a footwork composition consisting of a long set of bols repeated thrice so that the very last bol ends dramatically on 'sam'.

After the 16th century the environment of the North Indian Mughal courts caused a shift in focus for Kathak, from a purely religious art form to court entertainment. This dance form possesses a facial expression or facial abhinaya , body-postures, for example the tribhangi position, which is common to most Indian dance forms, and hand movements while seated through bhajan, ghazal or thumri, Kathak to show feeling or Bhaav or katha or story. This abhinaya arose in the Mughal court known as mehfil or darbar .

 Kathak was used to narrate the live figures of Radha-Krishna rasa lella,Krishna-Leela (Krishna’s childhood) in the holy land of Vrindavan as a folk elements.

Famous Kathak Dancers -  Malabika Mitra, Prerana Shrimali, Geetanjali Lal, Urmila Nagar, Shovana Narayan,  Roshan Kumari, Kumudini Lakhia

Kathak dancer Shovana Narayan, recipient of the Padma Shri award.