Bharatanatyam...Or Bhartfkljkudfnkdsfsfk For Those of Us Who Don't Speak Sanskrit

     I had my first class of Bharatanatyam dance yesterday.  It is literally the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life, and that includes the Honors Macroeconomics class I took freshman year.  My professor, dressed in a traditional sari, did not bother to learn our names and immediately started teaching us a prayer in Sanskrit that we begin and end our dance with.  Of the seven people in the class, only one is a boy and none of us have ever taken this type of dance before.

     Bharatanatyam is a classical dance from southern India.  The name comes from a combination of Sanskrit words: BHA - Bhava (Expression), RA - Raga (Music) and TA- Tala (Rhythm).  Traditionally the dance was performed by temple dancers and today it is one of the most popular dance forms practiced in India.

Photo Credit to: Infinitely Curious

     The dance is performed barefoot, with a mixture of hand gestures and foot movements.  The entire dance is performed in what we call plie in Western dance.  In other words, your thighs get a massive workout for the hour and a half class.  The foot movements are not difficult but when combined with the hand movements, everyone in the class was completely lost.  The opening prayer we were quickly taught consists of several simple movements, but the Sanskrit is not easy.  During on point of the prayer, hands are together and raised above to the ceiling, then pressed against the forehead, and finally to the heart, when one bows forward.  These movements are meant to thank the goddess of learning, the teacher and the audience.

     We were taught ten single hand gestures, or Mudras. They are all performed by the right hand only, with different fingers bent and folded each time.  We only learned ten out of thirty-two during yesterday's class:

1. Pataaka
2. Tripataaka
3. Ardhapataaka
4. Kartarimukha
5. Mayura
6. Ardhachandra
7. Araala
8. Shukatunda
9. Mushthi
10. Shikhara

     We perform a ten minute piece at the end of the semester in the dance department's showcase but I doubt we will be very good in three months!  This class isn't just difficult; it literally causes me stress just thinking about it.  It is a truly beautiful, but articulate dance form.  I am way out of my depths here though...