Dance has traditionally been an important part of religion and culture in India. According to Indian legend, the gods invented dance. Dancing is one of the most revered Hindu arts because it incorporates melody, drama, form, and line. Gestures, body positions, and head movements are emphasized in Indian dance. The use of the hands, fingers, and eyes is of primary importance. There are almost a thousand specific hand movements and signs (“mudras”). Often bells are worn around the ankles.
The four “abhinovas” are essential to understanding Indian dance. They are
1) the technique of movement, which includes facial expressions, head movements, and body movements;
2) all types of vocal and instrumental sounds linked with dance;
3) involuntary actions such as perspiration, trembling, and blushing; and
4) make-up, costumes, and sets. Some dancers are capable of changing their skin color voluntarily by consciously pumping blood into the capillaries on the face.
Gestures play an important role in Indian dance. Some dances feature more than 600 gestures, each with a specific meaning. They often have a codified meaning that is known to the audiences that watch the dances. It has been suggested the codified developed as a way to convey a single message by dance troupes traveling through areas where different languages are spoken or they developed mnemonic devices used by storytellers to convey and remember their stories. Colors are also rich in symbolism and meaning. Heavy eye makeup is often worn to highlight the expressive of the eyes.
Importance of Dance in India
Nataraja (a depiction of Shiva) is the divine, cosmic dancer and a classic image in Indian art. He is often depicted in old bronze statues with four arms and one-legged raised and the other crushing Apasmara, a dwarf demon associated with confusion and ignorance. One hand assumes the gesture of protection, one points to a raised foot, and one holds the drum that keeps the beat of the rhythm of creation. The fourth holds the fire of dissolution.
The ancient treatise on sculpture, the “Silpashastra”, offers a telling story about dance and art. In the old days, a devout king from Vajra asked a sage Markandeya to teach him the art of sculpture. The sage handed the king a lump of metal and asked him, “Do you know how to paint? The king said he didn’t but he was ready to learn. The sage then said, “Do you know how to dance?” The king said he didn’t but he had a basic knowledge of instrumental music. The sage then told him to learn more about music and use that to understand dance better and with that knowledge advance up the scale to painting and the sculpture. It is no wonder also that dancers and gods associated with dancing are the subjects of some of India’s greatest works, the Chola sculptures.
Dancers have traditionally been members of certain entertainer castes. They ranked low in the caste system and purity scale and supported themselves by working in traveling troupes or working for specific temples. It was not unusual for female temple dancers and troupe dancers to work as prostitutes. When the girls started leaving the temples to please local landlords a law was passed prohibiting the practice of dedicating girls to temples. To this day no mother in India wants her daughter to be a dancer, because of its association with promiscuity.