Presentation on kuchipudi dance

Presented By

Sai Ram Konduri

KuchipudiThe Dance of Andhra Pradesh

Origin And History Of Kuchipudi Dance

The Father Of Kuchipudi Sidhendra Yogi

Kuchipudi, which has 500 years of recorded history, owes its greatness to masters who shaped it over the years. Siddhendra Yogi, a doyen of Kuchipudi, lauded as Adi Guru by Kuchipudi dancers, gave life and blood to this dance form in its budding stages. He is the author of ‘Bhama Kalapam’, the jewel of Kuchipudi and he is the one who brought a distinctive style to Kuchipudi. Life of Siddhendra Yogi and his origins has never been clearly established. But there is an agreed consensus that he lived in the 13th and 14th centuries. There are many stories about the life of Siddhendra Yogi, but the popular version is that of Kuchipudi Bhagavatulu.  

The dance styles in the state are based on the standard treatises, Abhinaya Darpana and Bharatarnava of Nandikeshwara, which is sub-divided into Nattuva Mala and Natya Mala. Nattuva Mala is of two types — the Puja dance performed on the Balipitha in the temple and the Kalika dance performed in a Kalyana Mandapam

The three unique and essential ingredients of Kuchipudi dance are: Nritta (pure dance), Nritya (expressional dance) and Natya (drama). Of the seven major dance forms of India, Kuchipudi is the only form which gives equal importance to the four aspects of expression: Body, Speech, Costume/Make-up and expression

(Angikabhinya,vachikabhinaya, Aharyabhinaya & Sattwikabhinaya). With themes deriving from Hindu scriptures and mythology, Kuchipudi consists of fast, rhythmic footwork, dynamic expression, graceful body movements and hand gestures. The performer is trained not just to dance, but also to deliver the dialogue with intense facial expressions, and by singing the text as well.  

The dance was originally performed only by men of high caste, as a form of bhakti (worship). This devotion is a key motivating force for the choreographer and the performer, the aim being to inspire the audiences deeply through the storytelling. A spiritual understanding is very much required to interpret the characters in the dance appropriately. In its pure form the main purpose of the dance is to inculcate divine ecstasy, invoking immortal bliss and bringing one closer to the path of salvation.

Specialty Of Kuchipudi

Abhinayam – Soul Of Kuchipudi Dance

Expression of the limbs (Āṅgika Abhinaya)

This is the movement of the anga or limbs, which include facial expression. In different schools of Abhinaya expressions range from the grotesque to the understated, from the crude to the refined. Āngika abhinaya occurs as Padartha abhinaya (where an artist delineates each word with gesture and expression), or Vakyartha abhinaya (where a dancer acts out an entire stanza or sentence)

Expression of speech (Vāchika Abhinaya)

Speech is used in drama and also in music when the singer expresses the emotion through his or her singing. In the Kuchipudi and Melattur styles of Indian classical dance the dancers often mouth the words of the songs (padartha abhinaya).

Costume and scene (Āhārya Abhinaya) Another means of representation of the play is indeed the costumes and physical decorations of the actors and the theatre. In dramas, and dance dramas, costume and making are distinguished by the sex, race, sect or class or the social position of the characters, giving the production of the presentation some semblance of reality. The decorations of the stage theatre including lights and accessories are related to the scene of the depiction in which enhances the rasa between the audience and artists also comes under this category

True expression (Sāttvika Abhinaya)

Sāttvika Abhinaya is the mental message, emotion or image communicated with the audience through the performer's own inner emotions. The dancer or actor has to use experience, something authentic, to capture the audience and to elicit an empathetic response.

A principal division is that between natyadharmi abhinaya and lokadharmi abhinaya.

The former is poetic and stylistic in nature, following a codified manner of presenting emotion and expression which pertains to the conventions of the stage, which appear to have greater 'artistry‘ by virtue of taking something from natural life and rendering it in a suitably stylised way. 

Lokadharmi abhinaya is the opposite: realistic and un-stylised, involving very natural expression and movement, as occurs in daily life. Often this is the more difficult as the possibilities for interpretation of an emotion or a line of poetry are endless.

Lokadharmi and Natyadharmi Abhinaya

Instruments Used in Kuchipudi

• Mridangam• Manjira• Saraswati Vina (South Indian Vina)• Violin• Kanjira• Surpeti•  Venu•  Tanpura

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