Yanthram in Malayalam means 'instument'. A Yanthram is a geometrical design drawn or imprinted on metalic foils invoked of a specific deity. Yanthrams carry spiritual significance and point the user to higher levels of consciousness. It provides a focal point and works as a window into the absolute. It is a highly efficient tool for meditation, concentration and contemplation.
The Yanthram is like a micro-cosmic picture of the macrocosm. It is a focusing point and an outer and inner doorway. The Yanthrams are often focused on a specific deity and so by tuning into the different Yanthrams you can tap into certain deities or creative force centers in the universe.When the mind is concentrated on a single, simple object, the mental chatter ceases. Eventually, the object is dropped when mind can remain empty and silent without help. In the most advanced phases, it is believed that it is possible to attain union with God by the geometric visualization of a Yanthram.
Yanthrams can help a man in thousand ways. These can prove helpful in getting rid of porverty, enemies, anger, bad time, bad effects, diseases and many more. A Yanthram is helpful in every field of your life, to attain success in your profession, to acquire wealth, peace, goodluck, getting rid of tensions, to win in court cases, to ward off diseases and to progress in meditation. By having a yanthram and keeping it in a sacred place in your house, worshipping it everyday, one can fulful one's desires and attain one's goals.
The only condition to avail these benefits is that the bearer should have faith, trust and respect for yanthrams. By having a yanthram and keeping it in a sacred place in your house, gazing it everyday can fulfill your desires and help in attaining your goals. It is auspicious to see the yanthram daily in the morning and one should lite incense/dhoop or lamp with ghee before the yanthram every morning, and should offer some fresh floweres. Manthras should be chanted for fast results.
Showing posts with label dance jewelry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dance jewelry. Show all posts
Monday, July 4, 2016
Monday, October 26, 2015
Arangetram photography
Arrangetram and Pre-Arrangetram Photoshoot
Performing Arangetram is one of the most challenging and exciting accomplishments in a dancer's journey. Planning and executing an Arrangetram can be stressful on the dancer, parents and teacher. Having a professional capture the pictures of the journey can be priceless.I have been part of several Arangetrams in the Indianapolis and surrounding areas and have several tips for the parents and dancers. Most Dance arangetrams will need a Pre-Arrangetram photoshoot to get pictures for the invitations and program.1. Using good makeup for Arangetram and Pre-Arangetram is key because of the resolution of the current DSLR cameras (acne and sweat will be visible). The use of a waterproof foundation like the one available from MAC cosmetics is helpful in avoiding smearing of makeup when the dancer sweats. Please make sure that any skin imperfections are smoothed out by the makeup, or they'll have to be fixed on photoshop.2. For the Pre-Arangetram shoot, make sure that the dancer and teacher have a list of poses and facial expressions in mind. This will make for a more efficient shoot. Have a list of standing poses and sitting poses in mind. With indoor poses, the photographer has to set-up the lighting differently for standing poses versus sitting ones. It saves time to do several standing poses and then several sitting ones instead of mixing them up.3. For Pre-Arangetram photos, indoor photos with a plain background works the best. Outdoor shots can look really nice but it is difficult to use those pictures for invitations and programs. If you want some outdoor photos, make sure that you do those in addition to indoor photos, not instead of indoor photos. Lighting is controlled and predictable indoors.
4. Make sure that either a friend or a parent keeps a close eye on the dancer, dancers hair, dance jewelry and outfit to make sure that every thing is straight. I have noticed several times after the shoot that the jewelry was off center or the outfit was slightly off center
5. Budget about 1 hour per outfit to do the photo shoot. 2 outfits per photoshoot is ideal and time efficient. Dressing changes can be time consuming.
6. Make sure that there is enough light on the dancer and her face for the Arangetram. Photography is the art of capturing a moment in time using light. It is difficult to capture poses that often only last fractions of a second in low light situations.
7. Assign a friend on the day of the performance to wipe the sweat off of the dancer's face and neck in between dances. Assign another friend to make sure that the stage stays clean throughout the Arrangetram.8. Make sure that the photographer knows about all the special poses that you want captured.9. Giving the photographer access to the dancer during the make up session will yield some amazing unposed/natural pictures.
10. Have some prints and/or photo albums made of the Arengetram/ Prearengetram photos. Prints and albums make it much easier to enjoy and share your pictures instead of locking them up in your computer’s brain. There are several online places to use for prints and photo books including Blurb, Mpix, publisher and Costco just to mention a few. I personally like the quality of prints and accuracy of color of the albums from apple/ iPhoto.
11. Make sure that the entire event and some of the preparation gets covered. It will help you tell a whole story of your Arangetram journey. Do not just have some one just take pictures of the dance on stage. Cover some of the rehearsal, decorations on the day of the performance, cover the audience, pictures with the Guru and student and pictures of the dancer with family and friends. Candid shoots of the audience and the dancer getting ready can be interesting.
12. Remember that you and your teachers are the true experts of the performance. Audience is there to support and cheer you on not to critique your performance. Relax and enjoy the ride. Let your photographer worry about capturing your special moments. Please contact me if you have any questions on arangetram/dance photography.
Specialized in Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Mohiniyattam and any other Indian classical dance arangetrams and rangapravesams
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Most sold item from DanceCostumesAndJewelry.com
Our online store has about 400 products and more than 15 categories. We sell almost anything you need for an Indian classical dance performance, may it be Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Mohiniyattam, Odissi or Kathak. We also sell accessories like ankle bells, artificial flowers, hair rings and false hair. Our main product is the imitation temple jewelry and we sell a lot of temple jewelry sets which can be used for Bharatanatyam dance or kuchipudi dance.
However, the most sold item from our website is the paper jasmine flower. We used to sell this per feet, but recently due to the repeated requests from several of our customers, we started selling in meters. We also reduced the price of this item due to high volumes. Thanks to all our ever supporting customers and please do not forget to write a review in our site after you buy an item.
Here is the picture of the paper jasmine gajra
Here are some pictures of our jewelry. You can see more picture here in this link too.
However, the most sold item from our website is the paper jasmine flower. We used to sell this per feet, but recently due to the repeated requests from several of our customers, we started selling in meters. We also reduced the price of this item due to high volumes. Thanks to all our ever supporting customers and please do not forget to write a review in our site after you buy an item.
Here is the picture of the paper jasmine gajra
Here are some pictures of our jewelry. You can see more picture here in this link too.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Coupon code for DanceCostumesAndJewelry.com
Many of our visitors, who intend to buy Indian Jewelry, call us and ask for discount before they put items in their shopping cart. Generally, we don’t offer any discount for retail buyers, but we offer coupons codes which varies from 4% to 8% from time to time. Also they require a minimum order value to get activated. These coupon codes are generated for the season according to the amount of business we do during that season. Most discount is given during the May/June months, because we are slow during those months and are trying to get more customers. During that period most of the people will be travelling to India and will try to buy dance jewelry from there thinking that it is going to be cheap there.
Well let us come to the point. Coupon codes – Ok, you can see our coupon codes in the retailmenot.com website. Please click on the link and search for dance jewelry. You will see our website in their results. Click on it and scroll down to see the coupon code. It may save you upto 8%. But remember there is always a minimum order value to activate the coupon.
You can always buy good quality dance jewelry at our secured website. No need to worry about shopping during your Indian vacation.
Thank you and happy shopping…
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Differences between classical Indian dance styles in terms of Natya Shastra, Tantra, calligraphy, mechanical engineering and psychiatry
By Ashwini Shankar, Chennai
The topics touched in this article will be:
Padma Subrahmanyam's elucidation of Natya Shastra's Recakas
* Role of Recakas in producing Rasas
* What makes the dance attractive, beautiful and interesting
* Kaisiki vs. robotic movements in terms of mechanical engineering
* Why classical Indian dance proper is a solo dance
* Laya and 22 Sruthis
* Why Bharata Muni didn't allow men to sing (and the proof that most dancers and rasikas are actually deaf)
* Why Anita Ratnam is fond of her Tai Chi classes
* Anga Suddham, modes of movements and calligraphy
* The Tantric explanations of everything in terms of 3 gunas, 5 elements, the vrittis and more
* Difference between true art, factory-produced merchandise, and garbage
In her book on the Karanas, Padma Subrahmanyam boldly attempted to pinpoint what is dance and what is not. She builds much of her explanation around the term Recaka. To give you an idea of what the mind-boggling variety of, for example, the Pada (feet) Recakas alone include, these "may utilize the space on the sides, move forward, slip or glide, waver, quiver, shake, proceed, turn away, swerve, sway, get pushed, jerk, slide, raise, lower, draw, release or whirl." Padma Subrahmanyam says, though, that Recakas "cannot be enlisted or enumerated." She also uses the terms Prthagbhava (clearly / sharply outlined) and Valana (smooth / blurred) components of movement saying that a performance that makes use of both masterfully "can never be boring even for the uninitiated." All this makes sense, while I am yet to understand her identification of Anga Suddham with Prthagbhava alone.
Alathur Vijayakumar, the founder of Kalavardhanis, thought he discovered America when he said that he arrived at a formula that detects the "presence of grace" (or rather, the presence of life) in a particular dance sequence. Any robotic movement (which the break dance or army soldiers marching seeks to emulate) can very accurately be described in terms of velocity (V) and acceleration (V²) and jerk (V³). Padma Subrahmanyam says, "...if the intensity (of movement) is constant, the actions suffer a lack of variety. The lines may be defined, lucid and distinct in every action with clarity even in the divergence of the movements. In such a convoy of actions, every movement follows disconnectedly, without getting dissolved into one another. Hence there is a danger of killing grace." She says that the word Valana signifies that "each movement glides into another in a graceful manner."
Any psychiatrist or graphologist will tell you that if the letters in your handwriting are not connected, it means you think incoherently, and you have a good chance of becoming a schizophrenic in the future. Exposure to the schizophrenic dance performances is tantamount to eating food full of chemical pesticides. The organic movements full of life, especially the kaisiki (graceful feminine) type movements, are extremely complex and each is unique (just like every live flower is unique) as the expression of the dancer's manodharma. Their presence in dance can only be approximately described in terms of infinite number of components: V, V², V³,..., V∞ , and the speed graph will be way too complex.
The slight deviations from the impeccably "perfect" computer-generated standard are inherent in classical Indian dance. The deviations that create beauty are predominantly Sattvic, though, depending on the character, they may contain a good dose of Rajas. The ugly deviations are the results of the dancer's laziness or inability to follow the proper trajectory (Anga Suddham). These are the Tamasic deviations (look at the 3 words "Dance" again).
Now, there are some politically incorrect and undemocratic conclusions that the senior dancers who hate Bharata Muni will abhor. Even if you are born with the Sattva as the dominant component of your ("Brahmin") nature, your body, emotions and mind will be more Rajasic in the teenage years, and will be gradually more and more Tamasic as you grow older. (Yoga is the only method of changing this tendency). Our ability to understand, to remember, and to learn something new depends on the amount of Sattva in us.
I find it very amusing when the "senior" dancers dare to say that they somehow "explore the Sringara rasa" even though their recitals are devoid of many of the 10 kinds of grace of the Sahaja type and of most of the 7 of A-yantaja type, all of which are part of the Valana-rich Kaisiki and all of which, according to Bharata Muni, can be found in the movements of young women only. A very interesting element of beauty is among the 10 Sahaja graces: Vicchitti (dishabille) is "the great beauty that results from the slightly careless placing of garlands, clothes, ornaments and unguents."
Why is the classical Indian dance proper a solo dance? Factory-produced latex flowers can be compared with the dance styles that are suitable for group performances where the dancers perform identical movements at the same time. To achieve the perfect "synchronization," the movements have to be as plain ("perfect-shaped") as the latex orchids (or one of the 3 words "Dance" on the right). Live flowers are never perfect-shaped and never have "geometric" appearance. If you are half-blind, the easiest method of detecting latex flowers is to smell them. No fragrance, no rasa. (Make sure the smell is not coming from your own hair where you had poured half a bottle of expensive perfume). "Recakas impearl the Nritta, make it shine and cause complete aesthetic satisfaction," says Padma Subrahmanyam. Recakas are like spices in food. Well, the food has to be bland enough to please the western palate.
In Tantra, the square represents the angular, robust and firm element of earth and Muladhara chakra. The rounded silver Moon crescent represents the element of water: cohesion, smoothness and life and... sexual energies of the Swadhisthana chakra. Swadhisthana is associated with emotion, which means that the dance without Valana is devoid of emotion. And because one of the 6 vritti petals of Swadhisthana represents affection, it means that the dancer who does not develop the Swadhisthana will have a big problem attracting the rasikas, especially the young rasikas of the opposite sex. As Swadhisthana is positioned higher than Muladhara, it means that the movements, before being expressed in the physical body, have to follow the movements of the subtle body (this is why Anita Ratnam is fond of her Tai Chi classes and will explain to us how body movements are supposed to spring from Tan Tien). The western (earthly) materialistic culture considers only the physical (sharply defined) body (sthula sharira), so their reliance on the muladhara techniques is obvious.
Padma Subrahmanyam compares the Recakas with Gamakas of Carnatic music, and says that the "Gamakas are the very life of the Raga." Referring to Bharata Muni's 22 Sruthi (microtone) system, she says that the "Gamakas are caused through a webbed state of the microtones, built on the semi-tones and tones of the musical notes." Have you seen many dancers whose laya is so good that their Recakas follow the microtones too?
If body movement can be described by a speed graph, the music is represented by its sound wave graph. Before you read on, you should define the distinction between music and noise, and between singing and shouting. (hint: analyse the sound wave graph). The graph for the violin will be much more plain than the graph for veena, the instrument essential for learning gamakas in vocal music. If Saraswathi holds a veena (not a violin, electric guitar or sax) in her hands, it's because it is the veena that is most suitable for accompanying the Recakas. The arrival of the budget electric amplification greatly reduced the popularity of the veena, as the sound coming from even the best loudspeakers in the Chennai sabhas blurred the music beyond recognition. After the age of 40, normal people become so Tamasic that they can't hear anything above 14 kHz. The ageing rasikas (except the ones who daily try to exercise their ears!) grew hard of hearing and came to prefer the Italian violin.
While there is software that can impeccably mimic any male voice, there is no software that can analyze and generate a female voice. If the male voices relate to the consonants, and the drums, the women's relate to the vowels, are far more complex, loaded with far more subtle nuances and shades of feelings. After all, isn't the world of emotion the woman's world? Bharata Muni explains that "Though men know the rules of singing in their traditional characteristics, their songs being devoid of sweetness, do not create beauty." (XXXV, 35-36). "Generally, songs are suited to women, and recitatives are suited for men... The good quality in women's recitation and sweetness in men's songs should be considered as an acquired skill, and not part of their nature. If men lead (in songs) and the songs possess good characteristics, but have no sweetness, then these impart no beauty... There may be (allowed) a loss of proper note in women's songs and playing of musical instruments. But this will not be sweet to the ear in case of men" (XXXII, 503-511). Sounds quite discriminatory, doesn't it? Note, Bharata Muni keeps saying that "The singer should be of a young age."
Ashwini (a pen name) is a young dance critic in Chennai who embarked on a long journey of recovering the celestial dance of the devas and apsaras from its pale and distorted reflections occasionally seen in the best Bharatanatyam and other classical Indian dance recitals.
The topics touched in this article will be:
Padma Subrahmanyam's elucidation of Natya Shastra's Recakas
* Role of Recakas in producing Rasas
* What makes the dance attractive, beautiful and interesting
* Kaisiki vs. robotic movements in terms of mechanical engineering
* Why classical Indian dance proper is a solo dance
* Laya and 22 Sruthis
* Why Bharata Muni didn't allow men to sing (and the proof that most dancers and rasikas are actually deaf)
* Why Anita Ratnam is fond of her Tai Chi classes
* Anga Suddham, modes of movements and calligraphy
* The Tantric explanations of everything in terms of 3 gunas, 5 elements, the vrittis and more
* Difference between true art, factory-produced merchandise, and garbage
In her book on the Karanas, Padma Subrahmanyam boldly attempted to pinpoint what is dance and what is not. She builds much of her explanation around the term Recaka. To give you an idea of what the mind-boggling variety of, for example, the Pada (feet) Recakas alone include, these "may utilize the space on the sides, move forward, slip or glide, waver, quiver, shake, proceed, turn away, swerve, sway, get pushed, jerk, slide, raise, lower, draw, release or whirl." Padma Subrahmanyam says, though, that Recakas "cannot be enlisted or enumerated." She also uses the terms Prthagbhava (clearly / sharply outlined) and Valana (smooth / blurred) components of movement saying that a performance that makes use of both masterfully "can never be boring even for the uninitiated." All this makes sense, while I am yet to understand her identification of Anga Suddham with Prthagbhava alone.
Alathur Vijayakumar, the founder of Kalavardhanis, thought he discovered America when he said that he arrived at a formula that detects the "presence of grace" (or rather, the presence of life) in a particular dance sequence. Any robotic movement (which the break dance or army soldiers marching seeks to emulate) can very accurately be described in terms of velocity (V) and acceleration (V²) and jerk (V³). Padma Subrahmanyam says, "...if the intensity (of movement) is constant, the actions suffer a lack of variety. The lines may be defined, lucid and distinct in every action with clarity even in the divergence of the movements. In such a convoy of actions, every movement follows disconnectedly, without getting dissolved into one another. Hence there is a danger of killing grace." She says that the word Valana signifies that "each movement glides into another in a graceful manner."
Any psychiatrist or graphologist will tell you that if the letters in your handwriting are not connected, it means you think incoherently, and you have a good chance of becoming a schizophrenic in the future. Exposure to the schizophrenic dance performances is tantamount to eating food full of chemical pesticides. The organic movements full of life, especially the kaisiki (graceful feminine) type movements, are extremely complex and each is unique (just like every live flower is unique) as the expression of the dancer's manodharma. Their presence in dance can only be approximately described in terms of infinite number of components: V, V², V³,..., V∞ , and the speed graph will be way too complex.
The slight deviations from the impeccably "perfect" computer-generated standard are inherent in classical Indian dance. The deviations that create beauty are predominantly Sattvic, though, depending on the character, they may contain a good dose of Rajas. The ugly deviations are the results of the dancer's laziness or inability to follow the proper trajectory (Anga Suddham). These are the Tamasic deviations (look at the 3 words "Dance" again).
Now, there are some politically incorrect and undemocratic conclusions that the senior dancers who hate Bharata Muni will abhor. Even if you are born with the Sattva as the dominant component of your ("Brahmin") nature, your body, emotions and mind will be more Rajasic in the teenage years, and will be gradually more and more Tamasic as you grow older. (Yoga is the only method of changing this tendency). Our ability to understand, to remember, and to learn something new depends on the amount of Sattva in us.
I find it very amusing when the "senior" dancers dare to say that they somehow "explore the Sringara rasa" even though their recitals are devoid of many of the 10 kinds of grace of the Sahaja type and of most of the 7 of A-yantaja type, all of which are part of the Valana-rich Kaisiki and all of which, according to Bharata Muni, can be found in the movements of young women only. A very interesting element of beauty is among the 10 Sahaja graces: Vicchitti (dishabille) is "the great beauty that results from the slightly careless placing of garlands, clothes, ornaments and unguents."
Why is the classical Indian dance proper a solo dance? Factory-produced latex flowers can be compared with the dance styles that are suitable for group performances where the dancers perform identical movements at the same time. To achieve the perfect "synchronization," the movements have to be as plain ("perfect-shaped") as the latex orchids (or one of the 3 words "Dance" on the right). Live flowers are never perfect-shaped and never have "geometric" appearance. If you are half-blind, the easiest method of detecting latex flowers is to smell them. No fragrance, no rasa. (Make sure the smell is not coming from your own hair where you had poured half a bottle of expensive perfume). "Recakas impearl the Nritta, make it shine and cause complete aesthetic satisfaction," says Padma Subrahmanyam. Recakas are like spices in food. Well, the food has to be bland enough to please the western palate.
In Tantra, the square represents the angular, robust and firm element of earth and Muladhara chakra. The rounded silver Moon crescent represents the element of water: cohesion, smoothness and life and... sexual energies of the Swadhisthana chakra. Swadhisthana is associated with emotion, which means that the dance without Valana is devoid of emotion. And because one of the 6 vritti petals of Swadhisthana represents affection, it means that the dancer who does not develop the Swadhisthana will have a big problem attracting the rasikas, especially the young rasikas of the opposite sex. As Swadhisthana is positioned higher than Muladhara, it means that the movements, before being expressed in the physical body, have to follow the movements of the subtle body (this is why Anita Ratnam is fond of her Tai Chi classes and will explain to us how body movements are supposed to spring from Tan Tien). The western (earthly) materialistic culture considers only the physical (sharply defined) body (sthula sharira), so their reliance on the muladhara techniques is obvious.
Padma Subrahmanyam compares the Recakas with Gamakas of Carnatic music, and says that the "Gamakas are the very life of the Raga." Referring to Bharata Muni's 22 Sruthi (microtone) system, she says that the "Gamakas are caused through a webbed state of the microtones, built on the semi-tones and tones of the musical notes." Have you seen many dancers whose laya is so good that their Recakas follow the microtones too?
If body movement can be described by a speed graph, the music is represented by its sound wave graph. Before you read on, you should define the distinction between music and noise, and between singing and shouting. (hint: analyse the sound wave graph). The graph for the violin will be much more plain than the graph for veena, the instrument essential for learning gamakas in vocal music. If Saraswathi holds a veena (not a violin, electric guitar or sax) in her hands, it's because it is the veena that is most suitable for accompanying the Recakas. The arrival of the budget electric amplification greatly reduced the popularity of the veena, as the sound coming from even the best loudspeakers in the Chennai sabhas blurred the music beyond recognition. After the age of 40, normal people become so Tamasic that they can't hear anything above 14 kHz. The ageing rasikas (except the ones who daily try to exercise their ears!) grew hard of hearing and came to prefer the Italian violin.
While there is software that can impeccably mimic any male voice, there is no software that can analyze and generate a female voice. If the male voices relate to the consonants, and the drums, the women's relate to the vowels, are far more complex, loaded with far more subtle nuances and shades of feelings. After all, isn't the world of emotion the woman's world? Bharata Muni explains that "Though men know the rules of singing in their traditional characteristics, their songs being devoid of sweetness, do not create beauty." (XXXV, 35-36). "Generally, songs are suited to women, and recitatives are suited for men... The good quality in women's recitation and sweetness in men's songs should be considered as an acquired skill, and not part of their nature. If men lead (in songs) and the songs possess good characteristics, but have no sweetness, then these impart no beauty... There may be (allowed) a loss of proper note in women's songs and playing of musical instruments. But this will not be sweet to the ear in case of men" (XXXII, 503-511). Sounds quite discriminatory, doesn't it? Note, Bharata Muni keeps saying that "The singer should be of a young age."
Ashwini (a pen name) is a young dance critic in Chennai who embarked on a long journey of recovering the celestial dance of the devas and apsaras from its pale and distorted reflections occasionally seen in the best Bharatanatyam and other classical Indian dance recitals.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dance dress
Both Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam are originated from southern states of India. Kuchipudi is the traditional Indian classical dance of Andhra Pradesh whereas the classical dance Bharatnatyam is originated from Tamilnadu. Bharatanatyam was formed from the ancient art of Cathir which were revived in the 19th century. Cathir was the traditional performing art of the temple dancers (Devadasi) portraying ancient dance forms. Kuchipudi as a classical dance form achieved excellence during the rule of Abul Hasan Qutb Shah of the Golconda Dynasty. The King was very much impressed with this dance form and he gave 600 acres of land to the Kuchipudi Brahmins for the grand presenting of this art form.
Cathir and Bharatnatyam are dance forms primarily inspired by the sculptures of Chidambaram Temple. The name Bharatnatyam denotes BHAvam, RAgam and TAlam. BHAvam means expression, RAgam means Music, TAlam means Rhythm and Natyam meaning dance.
Bharatnatyam is known for its elegance, grace, softness, clarity and sculptured poses. On the other hand, most of the poses in Kuchipudi are brisk, flat-footed, dazzling and overall curved having more rounded poses.
Bharatanatyam Dance dress
The commonly used styles in Bharatanatyam Costumes are the the Skirt (Saree) Style or the Pyjama Style with two or three fans. Dancers wear costumes made of silk sarees with gold kasavu (zari) designs. The pleats in these costumes, which are known as fans, opens beautifully when the dancer forms a particular posture ara-mandi (half sitting) and muzhu-mandi (full sitting). Since the real Silk saree costumes are very expensive, art silk material is also used for making the dress. Art Silk material looks like real silk but is not as delicate as the real silk fabrick. The artificial Silk is a mix of synthetic silk and real silk.
Kuchipudi Dance Costumes
There is not much of a difference between Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi costumes. The cross pleats and the Katcham that comes at the back are the main differences in the Kuchipudi costume.
In short:
1)Bharatnatyam - Classical dance from Tamil Nadu and Kuchipudi - classical dance from Andhra Pradesh.
2)Bharatnatyam represents and brings out inner fire within the human body wheras Kuchipudi expresses mankinds desire to unite with God.
3)The Bharatnatyam costumes have two/three fans of different lengths, the Kuchipudi dresses have a single fan.
Cathir and Bharatnatyam are dance forms primarily inspired by the sculptures of Chidambaram Temple. The name Bharatnatyam denotes BHAvam, RAgam and TAlam. BHAvam means expression, RAgam means Music, TAlam means Rhythm and Natyam meaning dance.
Bharatnatyam is known for its elegance, grace, softness, clarity and sculptured poses. On the other hand, most of the poses in Kuchipudi are brisk, flat-footed, dazzling and overall curved having more rounded poses.
Bharatanatyam Dance dress
The commonly used styles in Bharatanatyam Costumes are the the Skirt (Saree) Style or the Pyjama Style with two or three fans. Dancers wear costumes made of silk sarees with gold kasavu (zari) designs. The pleats in these costumes, which are known as fans, opens beautifully when the dancer forms a particular posture ara-mandi (half sitting) and muzhu-mandi (full sitting). Since the real Silk saree costumes are very expensive, art silk material is also used for making the dress. Art Silk material looks like real silk but is not as delicate as the real silk fabrick. The artificial Silk is a mix of synthetic silk and real silk.
Kuchipudi Dance Costumes
There is not much of a difference between Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi costumes. The cross pleats and the Katcham that comes at the back are the main differences in the Kuchipudi costume.
In short:
1)Bharatnatyam - Classical dance from Tamil Nadu and Kuchipudi - classical dance from Andhra Pradesh.
2)Bharatnatyam represents and brings out inner fire within the human body wheras Kuchipudi expresses mankinds desire to unite with God.
3)The Bharatnatyam costumes have two/three fans of different lengths, the Kuchipudi dresses have a single fan.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Dance make-up
The Indian classical dance makeup should have a graceful look and should be suitable for stage light rather than day light. It also should be equally suitable for dancers with dark or fair skin colors.
Make-up may smudge! Keep your face oil-free. Some dancers become very emotional just before the dance – but don’t cry!!!
Below is the list of Items you need for Indian Classical Dance makeup. This is applicable for Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kathak and Kuchipudi.
Note: All the items except the items in the first line are available in any makeup kit available from Wal-Mart or Target
Altha, Sindoor, Kumkum, Bindi (preferably Maroon color)
Black eyeliner or Kajal
Blush
Eye shadow
Facial powder / Talcum powder (inhaling or swallowing talcum powder is dangerous)
Light foundation
Indian dance makeup – step by step procedure:
1. Using a gentle soap wash face and wipe with a soft lint free cotton cloth
2. Apply an oil-free moisturizer. We recommend you to use herbal moisturizer. Remember, chemicals are harmful !
3. Apply a light coat of facial powder
4. Apply the foundation. This can be a nice thick (just noticeable) coating. The foundation color should be little bit lighter than your skin color
5. Over the foundation, apply a coat of facial powder
6. Now apply blush
7. Draw the outline of both eyes using black eyeliner. Make sure the end of the outline is curved so that the eyes appear like a lotus petal.
8. Apply multiple coats of black mascara
9. On the nose, especially on the sides, apply dark foundation to the sides of your nose.
10. Select an appropriate color lipstick with some gloss and apply
11. Place a maroon sticker Bindi in the middle of your fore-head. For round face, use a rain drop shaped bindi. For a long face, use a round bindi
Hair makeup is a different topic and it varies depending upon the dance style. However, irrespective of the dance style, all uses false hair and hair kunjalam. We will cover the hair makeup in a separate blog.
Make-up may smudge! Keep your face oil-free. Some dancers become very emotional just before the dance – but don’t cry!!!
Below is the list of Items you need for Indian Classical Dance makeup. This is applicable for Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kathak and Kuchipudi.
Note: All the items except the items in the first line are available in any makeup kit available from Wal-Mart or Target
Altha, Sindoor, Kumkum, Bindi (preferably Maroon color)
Black eyeliner or Kajal
Blush
Eye shadow
Facial powder / Talcum powder (inhaling or swallowing talcum powder is dangerous)
Light foundation
Indian dance makeup – step by step procedure:
1. Using a gentle soap wash face and wipe with a soft lint free cotton cloth
2. Apply an oil-free moisturizer. We recommend you to use herbal moisturizer. Remember, chemicals are harmful !
3. Apply a light coat of facial powder
4. Apply the foundation. This can be a nice thick (just noticeable) coating. The foundation color should be little bit lighter than your skin color
5. Over the foundation, apply a coat of facial powder
6. Now apply blush
7. Draw the outline of both eyes using black eyeliner. Make sure the end of the outline is curved so that the eyes appear like a lotus petal.
8. Apply multiple coats of black mascara
9. On the nose, especially on the sides, apply dark foundation to the sides of your nose.
10. Select an appropriate color lipstick with some gloss and apply
11. Place a maroon sticker Bindi in the middle of your fore-head. For round face, use a rain drop shaped bindi. For a long face, use a round bindi
Hair makeup is a different topic and it varies depending upon the dance style. However, irrespective of the dance style, all uses false hair and hair kunjalam. We will cover the hair makeup in a separate blog.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Dance Ankle Bells from IndiaMartInUSA.net
Have you ever looked at the different models of Ghungroo we have in our online store? We have almost all the best quality ankle bells available in South India in our website. The Ankle bells are known as “Salangai” in Tamil and “Chilanka” in Malayalam. Basically they are two types – Leather and cloth. There is one more less popular type made of Rexin also. As you know, the quality and confort of these are not well known.
Ankle bells made of genuine leather are very comfortable to wear and knwon to last long – you may get bored with them before they start tear apart. These have cushion pads behind, where it comes into contact with your ankle and so are very comfortabe to wear during hours of long practice or performance. The buckles, once fastened won’t come apart and are worry free. Some dancers prefer cloth type and would like to tie the Ghungroos instead if buckle them up.
The size of the Salangai depends upon the number of bells in each of them. It is appropriate to wear a two line Ankle bell for a seven or eight year old dancer, while adults prefer to have a four or five line Ghungroo. Based on the size, the number of bells in the Ghungroo will change. A good quality Ankle bell will have atleast 10 bells in each line. There fore, a 4 line Ghungroo will have about 40 bells in one pad. The quality of sound depend upon the size of the individual bell. The small size bells make less sound since the ball inside the bell is also small and its movement is lesser than that of a big bell.
Ankle bell coming off from the dancers leg during a performance is considered as a bad sign. Also it is dangerous and may injure the dancer. So it is important to select a good quality Ankle bell and one should make sure it is fastened or tightened properly before the dancer goes to the stage.
Ankle bells made of genuine leather are very comfortable to wear and knwon to last long – you may get bored with them before they start tear apart. These have cushion pads behind, where it comes into contact with your ankle and so are very comfortabe to wear during hours of long practice or performance. The buckles, once fastened won’t come apart and are worry free. Some dancers prefer cloth type and would like to tie the Ghungroos instead if buckle them up.
The size of the Salangai depends upon the number of bells in each of them. It is appropriate to wear a two line Ankle bell for a seven or eight year old dancer, while adults prefer to have a four or five line Ghungroo. Based on the size, the number of bells in the Ghungroo will change. A good quality Ankle bell will have atleast 10 bells in each line. There fore, a 4 line Ghungroo will have about 40 bells in one pad. The quality of sound depend upon the size of the individual bell. The small size bells make less sound since the ball inside the bell is also small and its movement is lesser than that of a big bell.
Ankle bell coming off from the dancers leg during a performance is considered as a bad sign. Also it is dangerous and may injure the dancer. So it is important to select a good quality Ankle bell and one should make sure it is fastened or tightened properly before the dancer goes to the stage.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Bharatanatyam dance dress rental
Dear reader, We have discontinued the costume rental business. You can order your custom made costume from http://www.dancecostumesandjewelry.com/ Sorry for the inconvenience!!!!
There are two different types available for rent - the four piece art silk bharatanatyam costume and the six piece art silk bharatanatyam costume. The six piece set is only available for Indian sizes 32 and below. There is a deposit you need to pay after you place the order. This deposit will be returned after we receive the costumes from you after your use. We collect this deposit to make sure the costumes are received back in a good, clean condition. It is your responsibility to return the costumes clean. You may only hand wash the dress if there is some kind of stain got on the costume while its in your custody. Please DO NOT put the dress in a washer or dryer as this may damage the silk material. We don't expect you to iron the costume before you return it, but please make sure to return it clean.
There is a price difference between the two types of dance costumes we rent. The six piece set is expensive because it is the traditional Bharatanatyam dress and you can even use it for your child's arangettram. This is the two fan pattern. Please see the pictures below. This has a pyjama style pant, blouse, two fans, arapatta and dhavani.
Also have a look at our temple jewelry sets. Our dance jewelry sets have all the necessary ornaments for the complete make-up. We have complete imitation dance jewelry sets with belt, long chain, necklace, bangles, jimiki, nath, head-set, mattil and Rakodi for price ranging from $49.00 to $89.00
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
New stock arrived !
Today we have updated our website with many fast moving items. Many of the "out-of-stock" items are now available. Have a look at the site. The temple jewelry set model IT TR75 is available now. We also have the 4 line long chain for Bharatanatyam as well as the fast moving Elakathaali.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Bharatanatyam Jewellery
Temple jewellery belongs to the tradition of India, especially southern part of India. Olden days, Temple jewellery was worn by only Devadasi girls who perform dance in temple and in Darbars. Now a days, it is not uncommon to see south Indian brides wearing Temple Jewellery for their weddings. So today, one can say the Temple jewellery is traditional South Indian jewellery. The origin of Temple Jewellery dates back to 12th century. This was the period of famous Dravidian Tamil Dynasty known as “Chozha kulam” who ruled southern part of India. All the chozha kings gave very importance to cultural development and most of the of the temple jewelry today are similar to the designs in the heavily ornamented pillars with accurate details and rich sculpted walls of many south Indian Temples, especially ones in Thanjavur.
Today temple jewelry is prepared in a variety of metals. Originally it was made of gold with ruby, emerald & pearls and was used by the devadasi girls who danced in Temple and Darbars. Today Temple jewellery is mostly associated with Bharatanatyam dance. There are different types of Temple Jewellery manufactured today. Three of them are widely sold all over the world. Real Temple Jewellery, Imitation temple Jewellery and Stone type Temple Jewellery. Most of the real temple is made in Nagercoil, a southern city in Tamilnadu. These designs are quite unique which makes them more popular and adorable. These are made with silver and have a heavy coating of 22Ct gold over it. These are expensive and so imitation of expensive jewellery is also available on the market.
The most common Imitation Temple Jewelry set has 11 different ornaments. These are Long chain, Short necklace, Sun/Moon, Nethichutti, Mattal, Jimikky, Belt, Vanki, Rakkodi, Nath/Bullakku and bangles. Dancers also wear chilangai/salangai in the ankles during dance performance.
Today temple jewelry is prepared in a variety of metals. Originally it was made of gold with ruby, emerald & pearls and was used by the devadasi girls who danced in Temple and Darbars. Today Temple jewellery is mostly associated with Bharatanatyam dance. There are different types of Temple Jewellery manufactured today. Three of them are widely sold all over the world. Real Temple Jewellery, Imitation temple Jewellery and Stone type Temple Jewellery. Most of the real temple is made in Nagercoil, a southern city in Tamilnadu. These designs are quite unique which makes them more popular and adorable. These are made with silver and have a heavy coating of 22Ct gold over it. These are expensive and so imitation of expensive jewellery is also available on the market.
The most common Imitation Temple Jewelry set has 11 different ornaments. These are Long chain, Short necklace, Sun/Moon, Nethichutti, Mattal, Jimikky, Belt, Vanki, Rakkodi, Nath/Bullakku and bangles. Dancers also wear chilangai/salangai in the ankles during dance performance.
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