Kerala Classical Dances
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Kerala classical dances are revered dance forms which have an old tradition. These dances are performed at some religious festivals or other social celebration. The main classical dances of Kerala are discussed below :
Koodiyattam :
Koodiyattam, a Sanskrit theatre tradition which is two thousand years old got the UNESCO’s accolade as World Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. This is the only surviving classical theater of Sanskrit. The conventions of Koodiyattam symbolize the aesthetic conventions of Natya Shastra. A Sanskrit play is selected for performance and it is held at a Koothambalam, an ancient stage for performance of Koothu and Koodiyattam performance. Women play the female role in this dance drama.
The instruments used in this dance drama are Mizhavu, Kuzhitalam, Etakka, Kurumkuzhal and Sankhu. Chakyars, a sub caste of Hindus and Nangyaramma, women belong to Ambalavasi caste traditionally perform Koodiyattam at the temple theatres. Literally the meaning of Koodiyattam is playing together. The main role is played by an actor belongs to Chakyar and only Nangyaramma women play the role of female. This art form was played as the traditional temple theatre till 1950. Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar performed this dance form outside temple in 1955 which faced severe criticism.
Some of the typical features of this classical dance drama are different roles played by one character, flash back, eye expressions (netrabhinaya), gesture vocabulary or 'hastas', body movements (angika abhinaya) and facial expressions (mukhajabhinaya), the use of Sanskrit by the main character and Malayalam by the court jester or vidushaka who ridicules the protagonists.
Chakyar Koothu :
Chakyar Koothu, one of the oldest classic theaters of Kerala is performed in the temple theatre called Koothambalam specially designed in the Hindu temples for performance of Koodiyattam and Koothu. It is performed mainly at the temple festivals jointly by Chakyar community and Ambalavasi Nambiars. It is believed that this dance form is introduced by the early Aryan immigrants.
Koothu is a monologue where the performer narrates the story of Hindu epics and Puranas both in poetry and prose. With a prayer to the worshipping deity of the temple the performer begins Koothu. He then narrates a verse in Sanskrit and explains the same in Malayalam. The narrator plays the monologue with Thandava dance movements, gestures and facial expression.
The instruments used in the performance are mizhavu and a pair of Ilathalam. Koothu is a significant refined performing art popular for its comic element. The performer wears a strange headgear and his face is decorated with colors and images.
Bharathanatyam :
The national dance of India, Bharatnatyam originated in Tamil Nadu state of India. This classical dance drama is also an important part of Kerala culture. Believed to be oldest form of classical dance of India this dance was mentioned in the Natya Sastra authored by Sage Bharatha about 4000 BC. It was originally performed as dasiaattam by Devadasies, the young women who are dedicated to a temple deity.
Bharatnatyam is a solo dance in which the dancer dances in tune of the Carnatic music. There are strict guidelines laid down to perform this classical dance. There are various ideas like fire dance, dancing flame are related to this classical dance form and some reconstructions are done by the experts.
Kathakali :
Kathakali, an important part of Kerala temple and cultural festivals is a classical dance drama said to be originated during the 16th century AD. It is a stylish dance which is famous for its make-up of the characters, splendid costumes, gestures and refined body movements performed with the tune of the playback music and rhythm of the drum.
Kathakali, the spectacular dance drama is based on the guidelines put down by Natya Sastra, the ancient treatise on dance and drama. The costumes are colorful which aim to give a phenomenal effect. The actors enact the story of the myths and scriptures through hand gestures, refined movements and facial expressions. There are about 101 classical stories of Kathakali, in recent time to popularize this dance drama, many stories of Bible and other classics have been adapted into Kathakali scripts. Kathakali dance has some similarities shared with the classical arts like Krishnanattam, Koodiyatam, and it borrowed some elements from the ritualistic arts like Theyyam, Padayani, Thiyattu, etc.
The five elements of fine art which combine in the dance of Kathakali are expressions (Natyam, facial expressions), dance (Nritham, the component of dance with movements of body, hands and legs), enactment (Nrithyam, mudras or hand gestures which are component of drama), Song (Geetha) and instrument (Vadyam)
Krishnanattom :
Krishnanattam or Krishnattam is a temple art in which the actors play the life story of Lord Krishna in a series of eight plays. Guruvayoor Shri Krishna Temple, one of the most renowned pilgrimage centers of Kerala keeps the tradition of this dance drama. The eight plays of Krishnanattom are Avataram, Kaliyamardanam, Rasakrida, Kamsavadham, Swayamvaram, Banayuddham, Vividavadham and Swargarohanam.
Krishnattam has some similarity of the ritual folk dances such as Thiyyattom, Mudiyettu and Theyyam especially in the painting of the face in intricate patterns, and the use of masks and colorful costumes and head-dresses. Makeup costumes and ornaments of the dance have also close resemblance to those of Kathakali. In some plays of Krishnanattom many characters perform the same dance with eye movements, gestures, facial expressions, etc.
Thullal :
Thullal is a solo dance and its origin is credited to Kunchan Nambiar who was a famous poet of Kerala. As it is a genre of Kerala literature and it is said that this genre inspired the songs for Thullal dance. This art form is based on classic principles of Natya Sastra yet it is not rigid.
Two musicians support the Thullal dancer, one plays the maddalam and the other plays small cymbals. The dancer enacts the stories with hand gestures, body movements and facial expressions. He plays the role of both narrator and actor.
Thullal is divided into three forms—Ottan, Seethankan and Parayan and the deviation is done on the difference of costume, dance and rhythm and meter of the songs. Among them, Ottan Thullal is most popular.
Mohiniyattom :
Mohiniyattom is a combination of two words--mohini, which denotes the temptress character of Hindu mythology and Attom means dance. So literally it means a seductive dance. This dance is performed by women in a sensuous style. It has close similarity with Bharatnatyam and Kathakali. Carnatic Music accompanies the dance. The dance is lyrical. The gestures used by the dancer are similar to that of Bharatnatyam and it has some elements which match the Kathakali dance.
Like Bharatnatyam, Mohiniyattom has elements of nritta, pure dance and Nitrya, expressional dance. The present repertoires of Mohiniyattom are Cholkettu, Varnam, Padam, Thillana, Kaikottikkali, Kummi and Swaram.
Swathithirunal, the king of erstwhile Travancore had a contribution to stabilize this art form. This dance form also got status in modern times under guidance of Vallathol.
