The dance is in praise of all female deities, the most preferred being the powerful angry goddess - Kali or Durga. They perform various stepping styles jumps. The dancers wear ankle-bells and hold anklets or silambu in their hands, which make noise when shaken. This dance is performed in temples during Amman festivals or Navaratri festival. Kaman and Rathi, his consorts, are main characters. The villagers separate themselves into two parties as Erintha katchi and Eriyatha katchi and a heated debate ensues. This is celebrated to commemorate the puranic event when Manmada the God of Love was burnt to ashes by Siva in anger. He dances the first step, which others follow. The person leading the dance wears false beard and a mask decorated with shells to look like teeth. The dancers hold a kerchief in each hand and swing them as they dance. Today, this dance does not have any songs but only danced to the beat of Urumi Melam, Thappu Melam and sometimes, a long flute. The soldiers and female dancers would form in lines and dance behind the chariot. Sometimes even the king and his marshalls would dance on the chariot deck. It was performed in front of and at the chariot on the victorious return of the King and his army from battle field. Folklore research scholars have found that Devarattam is a combination of ancient 'muntherkuruvai' and 'pintherkuruvai' of the ancient Tamil Kings. It was actually performed once a year near the temple. The music, which accompanies the dance form of Chakkai Attam, is usually devotional songs, that is, songs on Gods and Goddesses.ĭevarattam is a pure folk dance still preserved. They also form a circle and perform the dance. While performing the dance the performers stand in parallel lines while dancing. When the word ‘Chakkai’ is added to it, a special kind of dance is understood. It is a very old form of dance practiced in the areas of Tamil Nadu. One of the folk dance forms of Tamil nadu in India is Chakkai. The songs sung during the dance are about gods and goddesses. They hold teak wooden pieces (7 × ¾ inch in size) between their fingers, which produce the sound. In this dance, eight to ten dancers stand in a circle or parallel lines. Chakkai Attam Ĭhakkai Aattam is among the popular folk dances of Tamil Nadu. These shows are very entertaining and hold both adults and children enthralled for many hours. The stories enacted in the puppet shows are from Puranas, epics and folklore. The puppeteers stand behind a screen and the puppets are held in front. They are manipulated through strings or wires. Many different kinds of puppets are used for this show - cloth, wood, leather, etc. Puppet shows are held in every village during festivals and fairs. The performance repertoire of Bharatanatyam, like other classical dances, includes nrita (pure dance), nritya (solo expressive dance) and natya (group dramatic dance). The dance has traditionally been a form of an interpretive narration of mythical legends and spiritual ideas from the Hindu texts. The dance is accompanied by music and a singer, and typically her guru is present as the director and conductor of the performance and art. īharatanatyam style is noted for its fixed upper torso, legs bent or knees flexed out combined with spectacular footwork, a sophisticated vocabulary of sign language based on gestures of hands, eyes and face muscles. Bharatanatyam may be the oldest classical dance tradition of India. Traditionally, Bharatanatyam has been a solo dance that was performed exclusively by women, and expressed South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of Shaivism, but also of Vaishnavism and Shaktism. A Bharatanatyam performer in Toronto expressing a part of a play with hand and facial gesture, in the dance's distinctive bent leg position.īharatanatyam is a major genre of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu.