UPMSP Intermediate Dance flashcards

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

Nava Rasa

The nine aesthetic sentiments of Indian performance - Shringara, Hasya, Karuna, Raudra, Veera, Bhayanaka, Bibhatsa, Adbhuta and Shanta - enumerated by Bharata in the Natyashastra and central to rasa theory.

Sthayi Bhava

The dominant, permanent emotion of a character - such as Rati (love), Shoka (grief) or Krodha (anger) - which, when stimulated and relished, ripens into the corresponding rasa.

Vibhava

The cause that awakens an emotion: alambana vibhava is the person or object, such as Krishna, and uddipana vibhava the stimulating circumstances, such as moonlight or a flute.

Anubhava

The outward expressions through which an inner emotion becomes visible - glances, smiles, gestures, tears or trembling - produced in response to the vibhava that aroused it.

Vyabhichari Bhava

Transitory emotions, also called sancari bhava, such as jealousy, hope, fatigue or longing, which arise briefly during a composition and deepen the dominant sthayi bhava.

Sattvika Abhinaya

The abhinaya of inner feeling, shown by eight involuntary responses: stambha, sveda, romancha, svarabhanga, vepathu, vaivarnya, ashru and pralaya - paralysis, sweat, horripilation, broken voice, trembling, pallor, tears and fainting.

Nritta, Nritya and Natya

The three categories of performance: nritta is rhythmic movement without bhava, nritya adds expression and rasa to rhythm, and natya is dramatic enactment with characters and a story.

Kathak Gharanas

The three main Kathak schools: Lucknow, known for bhava, ghunghat and thumri; Jaipur, known for pure nritta, ladi and vigorous tatkar; and Banaras, known for tarana, bhajan and jhumta.

Kathakar

Literally 'storyteller'; the travelling reciters of northern India who narrated and enacted mythological tales and are regarded as the source of Kathak dance.

Tanjore Quartet

Chinnayya, Ponnayya, Sivanandam and Vadivelu, brothers at the Tanjore court who codified the Bharatanatyam margam of alarippu, jatiswaram, shabdam, varnam, padam and tillana.

Rukmini Devi Arundale

Founder of Kalakshetra in Madras in 1936, who helped revive Bharatanatyam from sadir and reshaped its repertoire, costume and stage presentation through the institute's training.

Sattriya Dance

Assam's classical dance of the Vaishnava sattras, developed from Srimanta Sankardeva's and Madhavadeva's devotional performance and recognised as classical by the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2000.

Mohiniyattam

Kerala's solo feminine classical form, marked by lasya, gentle side-to-side swaying and a white-and-gold costume; patronised by Swati Tirunal and revived at Kerala Kalamandalam.

Kuchipudi

Andhra Pradesh's classical form from Kuchelapuram village, shaped by Siddhendra Yogi's Bhama Kalapam, featuring the sutradhara's introduction and the tarangam performed on a brass plate.

Teental

Sixteen-matra Hindustani tala of four vibhags of four, with tali on 1, 5 and 13 and khali on 9; standard for Kathak nritta, with bols beginning dha dhin dhin dha.

Jhaptal

Ten-matra tala divided 2+3+2+3, with sam on matra 1, tali on 3 and 8, and khali on 6; widely used for slow Kathak compositions and thumri accompaniment.

Rupak Tala

Seven-matra tala of 3+2+2 in which matra 1, the sam itself, is khali - an unusual feature that distinguishes it from most other Hindustani talas.

Laya

Tempo in music and dance: vilambit (slow), madhya (medium) and drut (fast). Laya ki jati compares density - barabar 1:1, dugun 2:1, tigun 3:1 and chaugun 4:1.

Tatkar

Kathak's basic footwork, recited as ta thai tat aa thai tat, kept in tala and executed flat-footed; it underlies every nritta composition and is judged in practical examinations.

Asamyuta Hasta

Single-hand gestures, twenty-eight in number according to the Abhinaya Darpana, including pataka, tripataka, ardhapataka, kartarimukha, mayura, ardhachandra, shikhara, alapadma and hamsasya.

Tala Jati

The five beat-groupings recognised in Hindustani rhythm: tisra (3), chaturasra (4), khanda (5), misra (7) and sankirna (9); a tala's jati describes its internal grouping.

Aamad

Kathak's opening nritta composition in vilambit laya, combining a graceful entry with footwork and a salutation to the earth; it precedes thaat and tode in the repertoire.

Tukda

A short, self-contained Kathak rhythmic composition whose final bol lands exactly on sam; it is frequently repeated in dugun or chaugun during performance.

Paran

A Kathak composition built from pakhawaj bols, often containing jati and tihai, recited in padhant and performed with forceful footwork and chakkars.

Gat

Kathak's stylised gait: gat nikas displays a graceful walk with matka and ghunghat, while gat bhava mimes a narrative scene such as Radha carrying water.

Padam

A slow, bhava-rich song composition whose sahitya is elaborated through sanchari bhava; Kshetrayya, Annamacharya and Swati Tirunal are major composers of padams.

Thumri

Semiclassical Hindustani song form in ragas such as Pilu, Khamaj or Bhairavi, used in Kathak for Radha–Krishna abhinaya with matki and ghunghat motifs.

Padhant

The dancer's vocal recitation of bols before and during the performance; in Kathak it demonstrates command of tala and laya and is a standard viva question.

Ghungroo

Ankle bells tied with strong cloth just above the foot; they mark the footwork, must be snug and evenly balanced, and exceed a hundred per foot for advanced Kathak dancers.

Tandava and Lasya

Complementary qualities of dance: tandava is Shiva's vigorous, forceful movement, while lasya is Parvati's graceful, tender style; both are invoked across the classical forms.

Aharya Abhinaya

Abhinaya through costume, make-up, ornaments and stage setting - for example the Bharatanatyam fan costume, Kathak's angrakha and odhani, or Kathakali's chutti.

Nattuvangam

The Bharatanatyam conductor's art of reciting rhythmic syllables and playing cymbals, guiding the dancer through the tala; the performer is called the nattuvanar.