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Lesson : 3 Kathak revolution: Bhakti Movement Era (part 2)

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Kathak dance changes its style many times after beginning. From the 8th cen tury the new dynamic force of Islam appeared in the subcontinent. Islam preached that all men were brothers under one God, that there was only one path to heaven which lay through the teachings of the prophet and that it was morally dangerous to make representations of living things. This attitude was seriously to affect Kathak dancing, which was not only concerned with many gods and goddesses but also portrayed them in human form. The dance mainly performed for worship gods and they performed in temples. A painting of Kathak dancer Picture source: pinterest So, by the Muslims this style was vehemently condemned. The Kathakas had to find Hindu patrons . Often Rajput princess of Central India, or disperse into the countryside where they could safely continue to dance in their traditional manner. Muslim society was based largely on merit and even slaves could aspire to kingship , but the caste syst...
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Lesson : 2 History of kathak ( part 1)

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We all experiences pleasure and satisfaction in rhythmical movement, since this excercises our body and at the same time reduces inner tensions.       According to Indian ancient mythology, dance is believed to have been conceived by Lord Brahma . Brahma inspired the sage Bharata muni to write the Natyashastra , a treatise on performing arts. He used Pathya (words) from Rigveda , Abhinaya ( gestures) from the yajurveda , Geet ( music) from the Samaveda, and Rasa ( emotion) from the Atharva veda to form the Natyaveda ( body of knowledge about dance). The hindu deities - Shiva, Kali, & Krishna are typically represented in dancing.  Shiva's cosmic dance Tandava, kali's dance of Creation and Krishna's dance with the Gopikas- Raslila are Popular motifs in hindu mythology. Female musicians in ancient India In ancient India, dance firstly dedicated to worship and then it is considered to be as entertainment or leisure. Dancers usually performed in temple...
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Back to the root...origin of dance

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The natya shastra created by sage Bharata we all know this. But why this shastra is to be created? For the answer we have to go million year's ago. When the sage Bharata was asked by his fellows to explain the origin of Natyaveda , he replied that after the golden age and during the silver age the people of the world had strayed from a righteous path, and become subject to   greed, jealousy & anger, so that their " happiness mixed with sorrow." The gods then asked Brahma to devise a fifth veda which could be seen as well as heard & which would belong to all the people, since the shudras were forbidden to listen to recitations of the four vedas. So Brahma agreed to creat fifth veda which include, " duty, wealth, as well as fame and contain good counsel...." Which would be enriched by the teaching of all the scriptures and give a review of all arts and crafts. Bharata's natyashastra translated by Manmohan ghosh After creation Br...
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Lesson : 1 What is kathak?

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Kathak is one of the major forms of Indian classical dance. The origin of kathak is traditionally attributed to the travelling bards of ancient India known as "Kathakars" or storytellers . The term kathak is derived from a Sankrit word Katha means story and Kathaka means " he who tells a story". The kathakas takes the story from the epics and ancient mythology through dance, songs and music. Kathak evolved during the Bhakti movement, incorporating the childhood & stories of lord Krishna mainly. A kathak dancer standing in a position Basically kathak started of as a folk dance form where kathak dancers moved from one village to another telling stories and passed the information from one society to another.  The style of kathak that we see today is not as it started. The philosophy, content, attire, instruments and even languages changed from time to time. This blog narrates how the temple dancing kathak is changed from ancient India to Mughalas, Britis an...
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Let's begin how to dance kathak style.

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Kathak is a popular classical dance form of India . In INDIA there is eight classical dance forms which are Bharatanatyam, Kthak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi , Odissi, Manipuri, Mohiniyattam, Sattriya . Kthak is from northern and western india . Bharatanatyam from Tamil Nadu . Kathakali is a famous dance form of kerala . Kuchupudi from Andhra Pradesh . Odissi dance form belongs to Odisha . Manipuri is the cultural dance from manipur as the name indicates . Mohiniyattam is also from kerala . Sattriya is a newly added classical dance form of Assam. Here, this content is all about the dance style that we want to know about. This content is for those who are absolutely new to this dance or want to know about kathak, How they can explore it and know everything about it. Those who are want to learn this style of dance they can explore getting in touch with this blog. Those who have no time to join in academy or in any institute they can know from this blog.  For practical exa...
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