UPMSP Intermediate Dance cheat sheet

Rasa sutra of the Natyashastra (chapter 6): vibhavanubhava-vyabhichari-samyogad rasa-nishpattih - rasa arises from the combination of vibhava (stimulus), anubhava (response) and vyabhichari bhava (transitory states) acting on the sthayi bhava.

Nine rasas with their permanent states: Shringara–Rati, Hasya–Hasa, Karuna–Shoka, Raudra–Krodha, Veera–Utsaha, Bhayanaka–Bhaya, Bibhatsa–Jugupsa, Adbhuta–Vismaya, Shanta–Shama.

Four abhinayas: angika (body and limbs), vachika (speech, song, recitation), aharya (costume, make-up, ornaments, decor), sattvika (involuntary inner states); all four may operate simultaneously in one line of a padam.

Eight sattvika bhavas: stambha (paralysis), sveda (sweat), romancha (horripilation), svarabhanga (broken voice), vepathu (trembling), vaivarnya (pallor), ashru (tears), pralaya (fainting).

Body hierarchy: anga (head, hands, chest, waist, legs), pratyanga (shoulders, arms, back, belly, thighs, knees), upanga (eyes, eyebrows, nose, lips, cheeks, chin); eye movement (drishti) and glance (bhrukuti) belong to upanga.

Nritta is rhythmic movement without bhava; nritya adds bhava and rasa to rhythm; natya is dramatic enactment with characters and narrative - the three-fold classification given in the Abhinaya Darpana.

Natyadharmi is the stylised, codified mode of expression used in classical dance; lokadharmi is the natural, everyday mode used chiefly in spoken drama and in the vachika portions of theatre.

Nandikeshvara's Abhinaya Darpana enumerates 28 asamyuta hastas (single hand) and 24 samyuta hastas (both hands); the same gestures serve nritta as decoration and nritya as meaningful sign.

The Sangeet Natak Akademi recognises eight classical dances: Bharatanatyam (Tamil Nadu), Kathak (north India), Kathakali and Mohiniyattam (Kerala), Kuchipudi (Andhra Pradesh), Odissi (Odisha), Manipuri (Manipur) and Sattriya (Assam, recognised in 2000).

Three Kathak gharanas: Lucknow (Bindadin–Kalka Prasad lineage; bhava, ghunghat, thumri, nazakat), Jaipur (Bhanuji lineage; pure nritta, ladi, powerful tatkar), Banaras (Janaki Prasad lineage; tarana, bhajan, jhumta).

The word Kathak comes from katha; the kathakars were storytellers who narrated and enacted mythological episodes, and the Bhakti movement later gave the form its Radha–Krishna abhinaya repertoire.

Mughal and Awadh patronage (notably Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Lucknow) shifted Kathak from temple courtyards to the court, adding salami, thumri and decorative gat nikas.

Bharatanatyam emerged from sadir/dasiattam in Tamil Nadu; the Tanjore Quartet codified the margam, and the twentieth-century revival is associated with E. Krishna Iyer, Rukmini Devi Arundale (Kalakshetra, 1936) and T. Balasaraswati.

Kathakali developed in seventeenth-century Kerala from Krishnanattam and Kottarakkara Thampuran's Ramanattam; it is distinguished by chutti make-up, large headgear and a drum-led chenda–maddalam ensemble.

Kuchipudi comes from Kuchelapuram in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh; Siddhendra Yogi's Bhama Kalapam is its signature work, and the tarangam is performed on the rim of a brass plate.

Odissi preserves the Mahari (temple) and Gotipua (boy-dancer) traditions; its signature stances are chowka (square, associated with Shiva) and tribhangi (three bends, associated with Krishna), and its modern revival includes Kelucharan Mohapatra and the Jayantika group.

Manipuri comprises Ras Leela, Lai Haraoba and Nata Sankirtana, with Pung cholom as the drum dance; Sattriya developed in Assam's Vaishnava sattras founded by Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhavadeva.

Teental: 16 matras in four vibhags of 4; tali on 1, 5, 13 and khali on 9; bols dha dhin dhin dha | dha dhin dhin dha | dha tin tin ta | ta dhin dhin dha.

Jhaptal: 10 matras divided 2+3+2+3; sam 1, tali 3 and 8, khali 6; bols dhi na | dhi dhi na | ti na | dhi dhi na.

Dadra: 6 matras, 3+3, khali on 4. Rupak: 7 matras, 3+2+2, with khali falling on matra 1, so the sam itself is khali. Kaharba: 8 matras, 4+4. Ektaal: 12 matras in six vibhags of 2.

Laya is tempo - vilambit, madhya, drut. Laya ki jati states rhythmic density: barabar 1:1, dugun 2:1, tigun 3:1, chaugun 4:1; in one teental avartan, dugun yields 32 bols and chaugun 64.

Tala jati: tisra (3), chaturasra (4), khanda (5), misra (7), sankirna (9) - the five beat-groupings from which Hindustani talas are built.

Notation convention: matras are numbered in a bar, sam is marked ×, khali 0, and the tali numbers are written above the corresponding matra; vibhags are separated by vertical lines.

Pataka (flag) denotes clouds, river, forest, blessing and the sun's rays; tripataka denotes a crown, tree or arrow; ardhapataka a knife or banner; kartarimukha scissors or separation; alapadma a full-blown lotus; hamsasya the beak of a swan.

Nritta hastas are decorative and carry no meaning; abhinaya hastas carry meaning, and a single hasta changes sense with context, so the same pataka can mean a cloud, a refusal or a blessing.

Body-technique markers: Bharatanatyam works from aramandi (half-sit with turned-out knees); Odissi from chowka and tribhangi; Kathak keeps the torso upright with straight supporting legs during tatkar and uses chakkar for pirouettes.

Kathak performance order: Ganesh or guru vandana → aamad → thaat → tode and tukde → paran and ladi → gat nikas and gat bhava → padam or thumri → tatkar with laya variations.

Composition rules: aamad opens in vilambit laya and salutes the earth; toda is a cluster of nritta bols; tukda is short and ends on sam; paran uses pakhawaj bols with jati and tihai; ladi is a chain of bols in which each phrase follows the previous one.

Tihai is a rhythmic phrase repeated three times, the last repetition adjusted so that its final bol falls on sam; it closes tukde, paran and tarana.

Gat has two forms: gat nikas is a stylised walk with matka, ghunghat and chal; gat bhava mimes a scene, for example Radha carrying water or Krishna playing the flute.

Bandish is a composed song set in a raga and tala with sthayi and antara; in dance its mukhda must align with sam, and its sahitya supplies the line for abhinaya.

Bharatanatyam margam order: alarippu → jatiswaram → shabdam → varnam → padam → tillana → mangalam; the varnam is the longest and combines nritta, nritya and sanchari bhava.

Padam is a slow, bhava-dominant composition interpreted through sanchari bhava; major composers are Kshetrayya, Annamacharya and Swati Tirunal.

Abhinaya layering: vachika supplies the literal meaning of the sahitya, angika the gesture, aharya the visual setting and sattvika the inner state; sanchari bhava expands one line of text into several illustrative episodes.

Thumri and bhajan carry the bhava section of a Kathak recital; thumri uses semiclassical ragas such as Pilu, Khamaj and Bhairavi and is built on matki, ghunghat and Radha–Krishna motifs.

Anjali hasta with joined palms is the salutation (namaskar) to guru, audience and earth at the start; the recital closes with a mangalam, bhajan or short tarana.

Padhant is the dancer's own recitation of bols in the same laya as the tabla before executing them; it is an examinable Kathak skill and a standard viva question.

Accompaniment differs by form: Kathak uses tabla, sarangi or harmonium with padhant by the dancer; Bharatanatyam uses nattuvangam (cymbals and recitation by the nattuvanar), mridangam, violin, venu and vocalist.

Ghungroo are ankle bells tied with strong cloth just above the foot; they must be snug and evenly balanced, and advanced Kathak dancers commonly wear over a hundred bells per foot.

Aharya in practice: Kathak female - churidar, angrakha and odhani; Kathak male - dhoti or churidar with kurta and sash; Bharatanatyam female - pleated fan costume; Kathakali - chutti and red-green face make-up.

Chakkar technique: one foot acts as pivot, the other is crossed in front, the torso stays erect and the eyes hold a fixed point; spotting prevents giddiness and allows the spin to land on sam.

Tala alignment rule: every nritta composition must finish on sam; drift between dancer and tabla is the commonest practical fault and is checked by counting matras aloud in padhant.

Viva staples: define nritta, nritya and natya; distinguish tandava from lasya; recite teental and jhaptal bols with matra numbers; identify pataka, tripataka and anjali; name the three Kathak gharanas and their hallmarks.