MovieChat Forums > Superstars of Dance (2009) Discussion > The two styles of Indian Dance

The two styles of Indian Dance

posted 15 years ago by SpaceBasketCase
5 replies | jump to latest

Can someone explain to me some of the nuances and differences between the two different styles of Indian dance that the two soloists performed? Thanks!

[–] SubiStar 15 years ago

Kathak, the first Indian solo style on the show, features embellished hand gestures and is more graceful and fluid as compared to the other styles of classical Indian dance. If you go back and look at the performance, you'll notice that the dancer's feet and legs stay in the same postions throughout the dance; the emphasis is on the beats and amount of times the dancer's feet "slap" against the floor.

Bharatanatyam, might look similar to Kathak to someone who isn't familiar with Indian dances, but is very different. The obvious differences are the tone/style, as Bharatanatyam is more dramatic, and involves bigger footwork. You'll notice that the second dancer spun on her knees on the floor and such.

Hope that helps!

[–] chrismatt83 15 years ago

Its extremely difficult and someone who realy doesn't understand that the two dancing styles takes years to perfect has no right to judge in my opinion. If you notice every single inch of the body has a certain coordination. From the eyes to fingers. I felt that the judges really had no clue....

[–] karina60 15 years ago

Totally. She was amazing. it was embarassing on the judges' part. and even worse considering the crap they give higher scores too.

I can't stand that south african dude's attitude. or him in general really.

[–] SuperhumanChichi 15 years ago

Amrapali did kathak while Mythili did bharatnatyam.

Kathak is a Northern Indian style of dance. It is considered the more "masculine" of dance forms since the legs and arms are kept stiff & straight. The focus is more on beat and tone (remember the fast music that was played during Amrapali's performance?)

Bharatnatyam, on the other hand, is a Southern Indian style of dance. It is far more graceful and "feminine." The legs are kept bent and overall there is a lot of bending and spinning involved (check Mythili's posture)

Personally, as a former Indian dancer, bharatnatyam is the more difficult of the two styles.

[–] Cairene 15 years ago

You probably sucked at kathak.

Kathak imo, is far more to difficult to master as the dancer is emoting from inside. If you ever seen an impromtu kathak performance,you'd know that no one is pulling the strings of the Khatak dancer.

Bharatnatyam dancers rely heavily on other components of the dance, i.e. the music or an instructor who will direct them. Bharatnatyam is more rigid of the two, that much i agree when it comes to the reason why people dance, to feel, Kathak is the champion of the two.

Kathak further is not bound by religion as well. Bharatnatyam is.Kathak's a fusion dance incorporating persian dance moves (from the mughal era) and the spinning, or chakras, can be seen to be a direct influennce of the turkish devrishes. And although you might think kathak to be an indian dance, it's more of a south asian dance as it popularity spans to Pakistan. Kathak comes from the root word, Katha meaning story. The dancer is telling a story, her story, your story, my story.

A Bharatnatyam dancer tells the story of the gods, not you, not me, not her, not him.