Kathakali is a significant genre of Indian classical dance. It's an art form of "plot play," but one that's differentiated by the elaborately colored make-up, makeup and face masks that the actor-dancers typically wear. Kathakali is a Hindu performance art in south-west India's Malayalam-speaking region.
The origins of the Kathakalī are uncertain. Kathakalī's fully evolved style emerged around the 17th century, but its origins lie in the temple and folk arts (such as Kutiyattam and the religious drama of the southwestern Indian peninsula), which can be traced back to at least the 1st millennium CE.A Kathakali production, like all India's classical dance arts, synthesizes music, vocal dancers, choreography, and hand- and facial movements. Kathakali, however, varies in that it also combines moves from ancient Indian martial arts and South India sporting styles.
The Kathakalī's common themes are folk mythologies, religious stories, and philosophical concepts from the Hindu epics and Puranas. Historically, the vocal performance was performed in Sanskritised Malayalam. Indian Kathakali troops have featured women performers in contemporary works, as well as adapted Western stories and plays such as Shakespeare's.
History
Kathakalī's elements and features can be found in ancient Sanskrit texts such as the Natya Shastra. The kathakali is credited to sage Bharata, and its first full compilation is between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates differ between 500 BCE and 500 CE.
The most studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of around 6000 verses divided into 36 chapters. The text, says Natalia Lidova, explains the theory of Tāava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, bhāva, speech, movements, techniques of acting, basic steps, standing positions – all of which are part of classical Indian dances like Kathakali. Dance and performing arts, says thi.
Kathakalī is organized around plays called Attakatha, written in Sanskritized Malayalam. Such plays are written in a particular style that helps to distinguish the "action" and "dialogue" sections of the performance. The Shloka portion is the metric verse, written in third person, mostly entirely in Sanskrit, explaining the choreography component of the action. Both such plays have traditionally been drawn from Hindu scriptures such as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Bhagavata Purana.
A repertoire of Kathakalī is an operatic production in which an ancient tale is playfully dramatized. A Kathakali performance is usually long, beginning at dusk and continuing through dawn, with interludes and breaks for the performers and audience. Some plays continued for many hours, beginning every day at dusk. Traditional spectacles are shorter. The stage with seating usually in open grounds outside a temple, but in some places special theaters constructed within the temple compounds, called Kuttampalam, were in use.
Kathakali has the most elaborate costuming of all classical Indian dances, consisting of head costumes, face masks and face painted with vividness. Usually, planning a Kathakali troupe takes many evening hours to get ready for a play. Costumes have made Kathakali's popularity spread beyond adults, with children fascinated by the performance's colors, makeup, light and sound.
As with other classical Indian arts, Kathakali is as much choreography as acting. It's said to be one of the hardest styles to perform on stage, with young artists training for their parts for several years before they get an opportunity to do it on stage. The actors speak a "sign language," where the word component of the dialog of the character is conveyed through "hand gestures (mudras)," while emotions and mood are conveyed through movements of "facial and eye."
There are 24 primary mudras in Kathakali, and several other minor ones. There are nine facial expressions, called Navarasas, which each actor learns throughout his education by facial muscle control to convey the character's emotional state in the story. Classical Sanskrit texts such as Natya Shastra include the philosophy behind the Navarasas but often with different names and these are also present in other classical Indian dances. The nine Navarasas express nine Bhava (emotions) in Kathakali as follows: Sringara expresses Rati (love, enjoyment, delight), Hasya expresses Hasa (comic, laugh, mocking), Karuna expresses Shoka (pathic, sad), Raudra expresses Krodha (anger, fury), Vira expresses Utsaha (vigour, enthusiasm, heroic), Bhayanaka expresses Bhaya (fear, concern, worry), Bibhatsa expresses Jugupsa (disgust, repulsive).
The origins of the Kathakalī are uncertain. Kathakalī's fully evolved style emerged around the 17th century, but its origins lie in the temple and folk arts (such as Kutiyattam and the religious drama of the southwestern Indian peninsula), which can be traced back to at least the 1st millennium CE.A Kathakali production, like all India's classical dance arts, synthesizes music, vocal dancers, choreography, and hand- and facial movements. Kathakali, however, varies in that it also combines moves from ancient Indian martial arts and South India sporting styles.
The Kathakalī's common themes are folk mythologies, religious stories, and philosophical concepts from the Hindu epics and Puranas. Historically, the vocal performance was performed in Sanskritised Malayalam. Indian Kathakali troops have featured women performers in contemporary works, as well as adapted Western stories and plays such as Shakespeare's.
History
Kathakalī's elements and features can be found in ancient Sanskrit texts such as the Natya Shastra. The kathakali is credited to sage Bharata, and its first full compilation is between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates differ between 500 BCE and 500 CE.
The most studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of around 6000 verses divided into 36 chapters. The text, says Natalia Lidova, explains the theory of Tāava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, bhāva, speech, movements, techniques of acting, basic steps, standing positions – all of which are part of classical Indian dances like Kathakali. Dance and performing arts, says thi.
Kathakalī is organized around plays called Attakatha, written in Sanskritized Malayalam. Such plays are written in a particular style that helps to distinguish the "action" and "dialogue" sections of the performance. The Shloka portion is the metric verse, written in third person, mostly entirely in Sanskrit, explaining the choreography component of the action. Both such plays have traditionally been drawn from Hindu scriptures such as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Bhagavata Purana.
A repertoire of Kathakalī is an operatic production in which an ancient tale is playfully dramatized. A Kathakali performance is usually long, beginning at dusk and continuing through dawn, with interludes and breaks for the performers and audience. Some plays continued for many hours, beginning every day at dusk. Traditional spectacles are shorter. The stage with seating usually in open grounds outside a temple, but in some places special theaters constructed within the temple compounds, called Kuttampalam, were in use.
Kathakali has the most elaborate costuming of all classical Indian dances, consisting of head costumes, face masks and face painted with vividness. Usually, planning a Kathakali troupe takes many evening hours to get ready for a play. Costumes have made Kathakali's popularity spread beyond adults, with children fascinated by the performance's colors, makeup, light and sound.
As with other classical Indian arts, Kathakali is as much choreography as acting. It's said to be one of the hardest styles to perform on stage, with young artists training for their parts for several years before they get an opportunity to do it on stage. The actors speak a "sign language," where the word component of the dialog of the character is conveyed through "hand gestures (mudras)," while emotions and mood are conveyed through movements of "facial and eye."
There are 24 primary mudras in Kathakali, and several other minor ones. There are nine facial expressions, called Navarasas, which each actor learns throughout his education by facial muscle control to convey the character's emotional state in the story. Classical Sanskrit texts such as Natya Shastra include the philosophy behind the Navarasas but often with different names and these are also present in other classical Indian dances. The nine Navarasas express nine Bhava (emotions) in Kathakali as follows: Sringara expresses Rati (love, enjoyment, delight), Hasya expresses Hasa (comic, laugh, mocking), Karuna expresses Shoka (pathic, sad), Raudra expresses Krodha (anger, fury), Vira expresses Utsaha (vigour, enthusiasm, heroic), Bhayanaka expresses Bhaya (fear, concern, worry), Bibhatsa expresses Jugupsa (disgust, repulsive).