Different styles of Bharatanatyam dance

Bharatanatyam has its origin in the southern state in India, Tamil Nadu and is dated back into centuries. Over the years, this dance has evolved into variants based on the region, culture and religious beliefs and hence manifests itself into different styles.

Bharatanatyam is one of the oldest known Indian classical dances that have been handed down over the years, along with the tradition. It is a form of dance that integrates three major aspects namely Bhava, Raga and Tala. “Bhava” means expression of emotions, “Raga” means music and “Tala” means rhythm. All three entwined together emerge into the vibrant bharatanatyam dance. Witnessing this classical dance performance with the dancer properly clad in a bharatanatyam costume, jewellery and make up is truly a sight to behold. It is sure to create an impact and remain etched in your memories forever.

Some of the styles that root back into the centuries are:

Thanjavur

Kancheepuram

Melattur

Vazhuvoor

Pandanaloor

Mysore


Each one of these styles has its own special significance and differs from the rest in the way in which the major elements of Bhava, raga and tala are utilized. Bharatnatyam itself is ingrained into the Hindu mythological scriptures and most of the dances try to portray those scriptures by means of the dance. These dances use rhythmic movement of the eyes, head, hands, body and legs along with apt expressions. Certain styles of bharatanatyam may provide more importance to vivid rhythmic movements alone, while some follow a slower depiction with varied facial expressions. Some styles adopt deep-sitting positions while others follow the half-sitting positions.



In the recent years other styles of Bharatanatyam dance such as the Kalakshetra and Balasaraswathi styles have also become prevalent. These are combinations or variations of one or more of the earlier styles of the dance. While the styles of the yester years give more importance for solo dancing, the contemporary styles provide more room for group performances.



Whatever may be the style of dancing; the bharatanatyam costume and jewellery is extremely important and adds great value to the dancer. Modern day trend presents the bharatanatyam dress in two different forms: one is the saree or skirt style with the pleats all ready. This needs to be draped appropriately by the dancer. The other is the pyjama style that can be easily worn by the dancer. Both costumes excel in quality and grandeur. Dancers can choose their costume based on the dance style they patronize and the comfort level that they feel for each of these costume styles.

Bharatanatyam dance dress color selections

At http://www.dancecostumesandjewelry.com/ you can submit the measurements accurately online and select the color of dance costumes as you wish. There is no limitation. In fact you can even upload a photo of the sample dance dress you have in mind too. We have tailors in different states in India. Most of our Bharatantyam dresses are stitched in Chennai and the Kuchipudi dresses are stitched in Hyderabad. Here are some samples of fast moving dress colors we do. This is to just give you an idea. We do not limit the color combination or style of the dance dress as we mentioned earlier. We have skirt style and pant style Bharatanatyam dress. Also we have 2 fan and 3 fan Bharatanatyam costumes. In our online store, you decide the color, style and the material.

Below we have shown some art silk material Bharatanatyam costumes.

Many thanks for looking at our sample pictures. Now please visit http://www.dancecostumesandjewelry.com/ and place your order. Please remember, all our costumes are stitched in India and so you have to wait at least 4 weeks to get them delivered to you if your are in US. Outside US delivery dates may vary depending upon the shipping method you have selected.

We will post more pictures soon.

Till then - have fun dancing ....