Assam ASSEB HSLC Elective Dance flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Nritta

Pure abstract rhythmic movement performed for its own sake, with no narrative or emotional intent; it emphasises footwork, posture and tala precision rather than expression.

Nritya

Expressive, interpretive dance in which hasta gestures and facial expression convey a text or mood; it is the abhinaya-bearing counterpart to pure nritta.

Karana

A single unit of classical movement combining a specific position of the hands with a movement of the feet; chains of karanas are called angahara.

Asamyuta hasta

Single-hand gestures used in Indian classical dance; the Abhinaya Darpana lists twenty-eight of them, including pataka, tripataka, ardhapataka and hamsasya.

Laban effort qualities

Four factors describing how movement is performed: weight (strong or light), time (sudden or sustained), space (direct or indirect) and flow (bound or free).

Stage zones

A proscenium stage is divided into a three-by-three grid of nine zones; downstage-centre holds the strongest focus and upstage corners the weakest.

Dynamics in dance

The gradation of energy within a movement phrase, produced by accent, swing, sustain, vibration or collapse, rather than by overall speed alone.

Tribhanga posture

A three-bend stance of head, torso and hips, characteristic of Odissi and also found in Sattriya sculpture-derived poses; it creates an S-curve silhouette.

Sangeet Natak Akademi recognition

The national academy recognises eight classical dance forms; Sattriya of Assam was added in 2000, joining Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri and Mohiniyattam.

Kathak gharanas

The three principal stylistic schools of Kathak are Lucknow, Jaipur and Banaras; they differ in emphasis on abhinaya, pure nritta and footwork respectively.

Mohiniyattam

A lasya-dominant solo form from Kerala performed by women, marked by soft swaying (andolika) movement, a white-and-gold kasavu costume and Swathi Thirunal compositions.

Kuchipudi Bhama Kalapam

A famous dance-drama of the Kuchipudi repertoire portraying Satyabhama's pride and longing; it is central to the Bhagavathulu village tradition of Andhra Pradesh.

Bihu dance

Assam's principal folk dance, most vigorously performed at Bohag Bihu in April, with rapid hip and wrist movement, accompanied by dhol, pepa and taal.

Bagurumba

The traditional dance of the Bodo community of Assam, performed by women in the dokhona, with gentle swaying steps imitating butterflies and birds.

Cheraw dance

A bamboo dance of Mizoram in which dancers step between moving bamboo staves; it is performed at the Chapchar Kut festival and by Mizo communities.

Wangala festival

The Garo hundred-drums festival of Meghalaya, held around November, featuring group dancing to long drums and gongs in honour of the sun god.

Srimanta Sankardeva

The fifteenth-century Assamese Vaishnava saint and reformer (1449-1568) who founded the Sattra monasteries and created the dramatic and dance forms from which Sattriya grew.

Mati Akhara

The codified ground-exercise system of Sattriya: a graded sequence of standing, sitting and lying exercises that builds stamina, alignment and footwork before repertoire.

Chali

A core Sattriya dance item with fixed stanzas, performed in variants such as Gayan-Bayan Chali, Sabdha Chali, Bar Prabesh Chali and Ghosa Chali.

Ankiya Bhaona

One-act Assamese Vaishnava plays written by Sankardeva and Madhavdeva, performed with dance, music and the Sutradhara as narrator and stage manager.

Choutal

The most frequently used tala of Sattriya, an eight-matras cycle that underpins much of the Chali and Gayan-Bayan repertoire.

Tali and khali

Markers within a tala cycle: tali is a clap marking a stressed beat, khali is a wave of the hand marking an empty or unstressed beat.

Sam

The first beat of a tala cycle, the point of resolution on which dancers and musicians land a phrase; the most important beat for laya-tala coordination.

Khol bols

Mnemonic syllables such as dha, dhin, ta, na, ge and ghe that represent strokes of the khol drum and are recited to anchor footwork to rhythm.

Navarasa

The nine aesthetic moods: shringara, hasya, karuna, raudra, veera, bhayanka, bibhatsa, adbhuta and shanta; each is evoked by a corresponding bhava.

Four types of abhinaya

Angika (body movement), vachika (song or speech), aharya (costume, make-up, props) and sattvika (involuntary inner emotional responses) together convey dramatic meaning.

Sattvika bhava

Eight involuntary physical responses arising from intense emotion: stambha, sveda, romanca, svarabheda, vepathu, vaivarnya, ashru and pralaya.

Nayika bheda

Classification of heroines in classical dance by situation and emotional state, including abhisarika, virahotkanthita, khandita and svadhinabhartrika.

Sattriya mekhela-chador

The traditional Assamese two-piece drape worn by Sattriya dancers, usually in pat silk or muga in white or cream with red or gold borders.

Kathakali chutti

The elaborate make-up system of Kathakali, with types including pacha (noble green), kathi (bearded villain), thadi, kari, minukku and teppu.

Mangalacharan

The opening item of an Odissi recital, beginning with a bhumi pranam salutation to the earth before the pushpanjali and subsequent items.

Dance warm-up

A ten-to-fifteen-minute sequence of progressive joint mobility and low-intensity movement that raises muscle temperature before vigorous rehearsal; static stretching before exertion is avoided.