Session 40- Greeva Bedha/neck Movements

Four variations in neck movements are prescribed.
Here is what Mr. Santosh Kumar has to say about Greeva Bhedas
Sundari cha tiraschinaa tathaiva parivarthitha
Prakampitha cha bhavagnair gneyaa greeva chathurvidhaa

Meaning

Sundari - Moving neck from side to side (atami in general terms)
Therashchinaa - Moving [...]

Session 34- Shiro Bhedas or Head Movements

Bhedha as most Indonesian and Malaysian students will understand, is a term that denotes a change/difference (from the previous state).This Sanskrit word is very commonly used word in these two languages. Bhedhas in dance terminology means a variety of movements prescribed for a particular anga/pratyanga.
In this session Mr. Santosh will elucidate the Shiro [...]

Session 30- Samyutha Hastas verses from Abhinaya Darpana

Today we will be learning the Samyutha Hasta verses from Mr. Santosh Kumar.

Here is the verse…

Anjalishcha kapothashcha karkata svasthikasthathaa
dolahasthah pushpaputaha uthsangah shivalingakaha
katakaavardhanashchaiva karthareesvasthikasthathaa
shakatam Shanka Chakrecha samputah paasha keelakau(keelako)
mathsyah koormo varaahashcha garudo naagabandhakaha
khatvaa berundakaakeshcha avahithasthathatheivacha
Note:
There can be slightly different readings of the above verse. For eg.
The last line may be taught as “khatvaa berundakaakeshcha ithyethe [...]

The dancing Nataraja and Shivarathri

Shivarathri or ‘Shiva’s Great Night’ is a celebration that has special significance to dancers and students of dance. Mahashivaratri, is an auspicious Hindu festival that is celebrated on a moonless night in the Hindu month of Phalguna that corresponds to February - March in English Calendar.
According to the Ramakrishna Mutt, the Puranas contain many [...]

Session 18- Samyutha Hastas

Before we proceed to step 4 of mardhita, let’s look at the Samyutha or Sankyutha (Sanskrit, meaning together/combined) Hastas. These are the two handed gestures and are 24 in number. Here is a chart for the Samyuhta Hasta, please click on it to enlarge…

There are only 23 in this chart. Avahita, the last of the [...]

Session 15- Asamyutha hastas and their meaning

We have learned the Asamyutha Hastas in session 8. Each of these hastas /their names have a meaning. We are going to study the meaning of these hastas in today’s session. It may be necessary to have a look at the chart provided earlier to see how the gesture actually denotes the meaning.
 

Hasta

Meaning

Pathakam

Flag/creeper

Tripathakam

3 parts [...]

Check Point / Guidelines for practising Adavus

It may at this juncture be pertinent to try answering the following questions?
From a Student’s point of View :

How am I dancing ?
How does my dance come across/ look to the audience ?
How good are my adavus/nritta?
Are they any rules to be followed while practising the adavus?
Is quanity more important than quality, or in other [...]