Note to the Teachers

Please provide a spacious hall for students to move and dance. The space must have ample ventilation and adequate lights. Guide the students according to their ability to adapt the principles provided below. Help them to form groups and work as a team.

Pedagogy Principles

1. Help students understand the importance of a relaxed body for dance and the importance of breath.
2. Understand the concept of a still point and movement emerging and finishing in still point.
3. Learn about the cultural diversity of India through its major traditional and various folk dance forms.
4. Use of hand gestures as a communicative device.
5. Expression of emotions — comfort level in expressing emotions. Encourage students to express both positive and negative emotions to foster emotional well-being.
6. Learning concepts of inclusivity and gender sensitisation by role-playing in traditional dances.
7. Understanding contemporary Indian dance and its role in popular culture. Exploring creativity with movements.
8. Learning and researching notable Indian dance personalities.s
9. Understand the importance of teamwork and collaborative effort in dancing.s
10. Holistic appreciation of dance and movement, and embracing the importance of nature.s

The Curricular Goals and Competencies are given on next page.

10

INNER DYNAMICS OF DANCE

1. Breath in Dance

According to yogic philosophy, the word ‘prāna’ refers to the vital breath of life. The flow of breath that occurs during inhalation and exhalation is known as prānāyama.

Dance is also fuelled by this life force, prāna. Dance movements begin with the equipoise, i.e., a relaxed spine. Breathing helps to relax the body, especially the spine, which enables the body to move with maximum agility and stability. Breathing forms the link between two seamless dance movements.

Breath plays a significant role in physical dance movements and also while conveying emotions.

• Divide yourselves into four groups.
• Each group will hold a dance posture practised in earlier classes. Observe the flow of breath through the movement of your spine.
• Then, work out a movement with expansion of the body — for instance, arms outstretched, body bending, elongated movements of the feet while observe how breathing in helps the body.
• Next, shift into another movement where there is body contraction, such as crouching the body in fear or nervousness, and breathe out while doing it.s
• Finish it with another static posture with a relaxed breath.
• Once each group finishes presenting their movement pattern, discuss how breathing worked for both stillness and movements.

2. Elements of Dance

Dance is a combination of being static and dynamic. There is a moment of stillness in postures and then, there is motion in movement.

The postures and movements are described in various dance texts, and each dance text offers their unique interpretation and terminology.

The Nāṭyaśhāstra calls postures sthāna and ways of moving as chāri, gati and mandala.

The Sangīta Ratnākara (ocean of sangita) gives us more variations of the same and includes regional variations, deshi.

The Abhinaya Darpaṇam (mirror of gestures) calls postures — sthānaka and mandala, and depict ways of moving as chāri and gati.

3. Postures in Dance

According to Nāṭyaśhāstra, sthānas are of three types — standing, sitting and reclining postures.

In many dance forms, there are definite male and female postures; for example, the purusha and prakriti pāk in sattriya.

Observe the different postures in different dance forms:

Notice the postures in these beautiful bronze sculptures. Isn’t it wonderful how different arts are connected together?

• Begin by trying the sthānas shown in the reference image above.
• Can you identify which postures feel masculine, feminine, or both?s
• Observe postures from regional or traditional dance forms, and try to do some postures they use.

Watch from the QR code and websites from the internet.

Observe your surroundings, and notice how everyone stands in a unique posture when doing day-to-day activities, like watching a bird fly in the sky, drinking water, reading, chatting with friends, etc.

Think about different characters from everyday life — an older person, superhero, builder, police officer, sportsperson, etc., and discuss their postures they usually stand in.

Based on your observation, strike poses as various characters performing different actions to capture a memorable photographic moment.

4. Motion in Dance

Motion in dance is a very exciting concept where one can use various levels of postures, speeds, extensions, leaps and pirouettes to move from one place to another. This can depend on the mood and the feel of the character, the patterns of the choreography (like circular or linear), or the action being shown, etc.

There are innumerable ways of moving in dance. As mentioned earlier, each text gives us many variations.

• According to Nāṭyaśhāstra,
• Chāris are of two types — bhaumi chāris which are earthly movements, where the feet don’t leave the ground; and ākāshi chāris which are aerial movements where the feet leave the ground. A combination of chāris makes a mandala.Think about different ways of moving where your feet are stuck to the ground like dragging your feet, and then think about ways where your feet leave the ground, like leaps, jumps, etc.
• Gati refers to movements and walks suitable for various characters in the play. Think about how different characters walk, like a soldier, a baby, a bear, a monkey.
If you examine your regional dance style, you will notice some forms have repetitive steps, where they move in a particular pattern. For instance, the tippani dance from Gujarat is done while pounding spices — they use their tool (the stick) as a prop and move with small jumps in a circular or linear pattern.

What makes it interesting is that it is not just the dancers who move but the whole group moves together, the sticks move rhythmically, and even the song changes speed, starting slowly and gradually becoming faster.


• According to the Abhinaya Darpanam,
• Chāri refers to different ways of moving or displacing yourself. It is derived from the word ‘chāra,’ which means to move.

Examples of chÃri (from Abhinaya Darpanam)

Gati is a characteristic gait like that of an animal. The dancer embodies the way the animal would move. This can either be used to depict the animal or the characteristics of the animal.

Examples of gati (from Abhinaya Darpanam)

For instance, in Kathakali from Kerala, the sides of the feet are used in a thumping step (chāri).

In Seraikella Chhau from Jharkhand, the dance has many walks inspired by animals, like the lion, peacock, duck, deer, bear, goat, crocodile, etc., (gati). Movements to be watched on QR Code

Note to the Teacher:

Teacher can play some background music suitable to the storyline.

5. Combination of Postures and Movements

A complete dance movement phrase is created with postures and movements, which are combined with movements of the arms and hand gestures.

The Nāṭyaśhāstra describes this coordinated movement of hands and feet as a karana, and describes 108 such karanas.

You may have seen some bronze statues of dancing Shiva — the image is one such moment captured from the Bhujaṅgatrasita karaṇa no. 24 from the Nāṭyaśhāstra.