Dance as a tool for creating Physical and Mental harmony!!

Hello all,
We all know Dance is the best form of exercise..but how exactly does this influence our physical and mental well being?? Let's see,
1.Dance movements are beneficial to improve balance as it stimulates our vestibular system. Few hours of dance builds up stamina, boosts our concentration as it involves rhythmic patterns and enable the brain to release dopamine (feel good) hormones. Dopamine is an important brain chemical that influences one's mood, feelings of reward and motivation.
2.Dance movements further enables circulation of blood faster and maintains healthy heart.
3.For handicapped person, mere exercises becomes tedious but the very idea of being able to dance would provide them with tremendous confidence. Since unlocks our body capacity to communicate and express better it provides balanced metabolism.
4.The quick movement governed by various gaits and beats and rhythmic calculations almost become reflexes as body get used to changing the tempo and moving in space it helps the reflex mechanism to get sharper.
5. Body symmetry improves as we repeat almost all the movements on both sides of the body.
6. When people dance in groups it develops trust, mutual understanding and friendship and a sense of belonging to the community.
Knowing and being aware of these vital benefits let's keep up our dancing spirits high!!
Thank you.

My thoughts on Pragmatic approach

  My thoughts on Pragmatic approach

After a week of frustration, I feel now there is a sense of moving as I have identified my area of not knowing. However, it is understandable that we adults don't like to make mistakes, as we were brought up that way. Teachers in school rewarded us when we were right and punished us with poor grades when we were wrong.  It is not right because, as Howard realized, any genuine experience involves trial and error.
Analyzing deeply  I am noticing that there are differences in my previous learning pattern and the amount of time spent in learning practical aspects and relating them with the philosophies.

As Donald Schon's describes, professional practice is a flat place where we cannot see very far(1987) as everyone would love to work on a high plane from which all valleys, hills can be seen. Keeping theories -in-use as a map I need to observe and understand what I am actually doing and what I believed to do? as we are really thrown onto our resources in an everyday work environment, all we have is reflective practice, the process of trial and error and learning from mistakes. As Schon says, all education requires entering a place of not-knowing, and to ask significant questions to find out.  For me, reflective practice is helping to accept the learning route to and enabling me to say I do not know what is going on? and I want to find out? This questioning develops responsible and ethical action, such a becoming aware of how much my ways of being is culturally determined. I recognize that asking questions and being willing to stay with uncertainty is the only way to discover our assumptions and do something about them. I am actively shaping my surroundings and the way I  relate to others and communicate through these research methods.
With my pragmatic outlook, I am going back to roots thinking about my dance form acknowledging and reminding myself that there is something very beautiful in my roots.  I have entered into the world where my experience reminiscent of my mother, my teachers all the values stood for.  I am able to delve into the depths of religious thought as classical dance is based on mythology and stories from olden times.  These stories find ways into our lives, we relate to them and I believe in culture when I say culture I do not mean just dance,  but the idea of knowing who we are?

The role of music in creation of 'RASA'..the Aesthetic expereince!!

Music and Dance have great affinity with each other and together with rhythm it is called 'Sangitam'. They work with the principles of symmetry and harmony. However,the fundamental truth about music is its tremendous potentiality to raise man to a spiritual heights. As we notice, every raga(melody/tune) has a capacity to produce certain mood which helps to manifest the creation of rasa in the audience.
Amarakosha defines Tala in music as "KaalaKriyamanam" tala is the measurement of time which disciplines music and entices the audience to gain stability. Appropriate sentiments can be created only if the musical notes i.e, swara is coordinated with tala. From the ancient times, creation of sentiments has been possible only by changing the tempo of the Tala.

Sarangadeva in his Sangeeta Ratnakara expounded the theory that each Swara /musical note carries its own emotional cloud around it for eg: Sa- Ri - depicts Veera( Valour) and Adbhuta (wonder) 
Dha- Bhibahtsa (Disgust and Bhayanaka(fear) 
Ga-Ni - depcits Karuna (Pathos)  Hasya (laughter) Shringara ( love).
similarly rhythm becomes essential in creating rasa.
Having this knowledge of music its our responsibility as a dancer/Choreographer to take utmost care to chose the right tempo to convey the desired emotions. For eg: Shanta-Karuna rasa can be depicted in Vilambita(Slow) tempo Shringara-Love in Madhya or Medium tempo, Veera Or Bhaya in Druta(fast tempo).

Importance of Study of Rasa Sutra for a dancer

The Sage Bharata (Bharat Muni) in 6th &  7th Chapter of NatyaShastra (NS) emphatically states the concept of RASADHYAYA and BHAVADHYAYA.
According to Bharta, "Rasa " is that to be relished  and "Bhava" is that which come into existence. It states that "Vibhava Anubhava Vyabhicari Samyogat Rasa Nishpatthi" that means Rasa is created out of the combination of determinants, consequents and transitory mental states.  

It is vital for a dancer to study them for the following reasons:
1. Rasa can only be created by a dramatic presentation  as it is not found otherwise, with the knowledge of Rasa Sutra a dancer can convey ideas through Angikabhinaya to the Spectator.
2. Theory of Rasa enables a dancer to apply the techniques to fix Sthayi vibhavs etc. moreover the nature of emotion is such that only if a dancer experiences it the others can feel it.
3.Concept of Generalization in NS emphasizes that no one in particular but belongs to everybody in general.
4. The NS further states that "NO wise Maxim,No Learning, NO art or Craft, NO device NO action that is not found in drama" hence dancer gets benefited with the knowledge of Rasa Sutra.

Thus, principles of Rasa Sutra prescribed by Bharata enable the dancer to emerge as an independent art though it continues to be an integral part of drama.

Blessings of Bharatanatym

The greatest blessings of Bharatanatyam is its ability to control the mind, as there is so much to do but it is the harmony of various actions that result in the concentration we seek.
The burden of action is forgotten in the pleasant charm of the art, the feet keeping to time, hands expressing gesture, eyes following the hand with expression while listening to the music. By harmonizing these 5 elements mind achieves concentration and attains clarity. The inner feeling of the dancer is the 6th sense which harnesses these 5 mental and mechanical elements to create the experience of enjoyment. Further, it is the spark which gives a dancer her sense of spiritual freedom in the midst of the discipline of dance.
The spectator who is absorbed in watching this has his/her mind freed of distractions and feels a great sense of clarity. Thus, the shared involvement between dancer and the spectator releases them from worldly life for those moments and enable them to experience the divine joy of the art.

What is Freedom of Expression for a Classical dancer? How innovative are contemporary choreographers?

With a vast tradition of classical dance such as Bharatnatyam it is not surprising that the movement towards the contemporary has emerged within the classical tradition. Unlike the West, India has no real defined modern dance, what we see are certain specimens of an extensions of a tradition, changes in thematic presentation or a heavy mixing and borrowing from other influence. No clear language of modern Indian dance has yet evolved, although contemporary dance has made great strides. It is difficult to understand the usage of the difference between 'Modern' and 'Contemporary'.
 What is defined as the modern Indian dance is actually a 'creative style or free-style where the theme is Indian for instance religion or the seasons since it is done in a language not bound by the grammar of any particular classical form.
Entering into the realm of liberated movement with abstract themes, there has been some brilliant choreography by noted dancers like Aditi Mangaldas, Akram Khan, Chandralekha from Chennai who have broken the shackles of conventional Bharatanatyam  as they refuse to see the body as being merely ornamental or decorative.
From being an art form that was so rigid and unalterable, today there is free choice of lyrics and music which can extend to songs in other languages there is scope for creativity, dancers have now yearning for new ideas, contents with modern day messages, dance forms themselves have shown remarkable resilience in  movement pattern. As times change, audience have developed a taste for a newer themes and nuances within the parameters of classical dance.

Understanding Tala-Laya-Gathi-Nade in Bharatnatyam

My understanding of the basic Vocabulary of Dance /Music-
Tala, Laya, Gati,  Kaala, Kriya, Anga, Kaarave.
Tala is a measuring scale or a structured rhythm. Sr.Venkatamakhi formulated Sulaadi Spata Talas.
Every tala conatins  Angas (Limbs) they are 6 in total. commonly used ar are Laghu, Dhruta, and Anudruta.  other 3 are Guru, Pluta and kakapada.( not used)

Laya is the basic speed of execution of the tala, it is generally determined at the very beginning of any musical rendering. Eg: speed of varnam is different from Padam.

Kriya is action of putting tala, it is identified as Nishabha and Sashabha Kriya.  Sashabda is with audible sound of putting tala and Nishabha is the silent beats like waving hand or counting fingers as in Laghu.
Gati is the foundation on which we create patterns. Gati remains constant , while nade can change. Gati could be chaturashara tishra mishra khanda or Sankeerna depending on the number of letters or Akashras.  Further to understand, gati is like a floor and nade or patterns are like marbles thrown on the floor...it could be 3, 4, 5 or 7 or 9.

Kaala is the fractional unit of a talakshara.

Kaaravai- These are the letters or aksharas which are present but are silent, they are not recited, silent gaps are called kaaravais.