The Dance

  Bharatnatyam Tamil Nadu , South India Bharatnatyam  is an  Indian classical dance  form that originated in  Tamil Nadu , India. [ 1 ] [ 2 ]  It is a classical dance form recognized by the  Sangeet Natak Akademi , and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of  Hinduism  and  Jainism . [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] A description of precursors of  Bharatanatyam  from the  Natya Shastra  dated around (500 BCE) [ 6 ] [ 7 ]  and in the ancient Tamil epic  Silappatikaram  dated around (171 CE), [ 8 ] [ 9 ]  while temple sculptures of the 6th to 9th century CE suggest dance was a refined performance art by the mid-1st millennium CE. [ 10 ] [ 11 ]  Sadiraattam, which was renamed Bharatanatyam in 1932, is the oldest classical dance tradition in India. [ 12 ] Bharatanatyam  contains different types of  bani .  Bani , or "tradition", is a term used to describe the dance technique...

  Nataraja   Nataraja   (/ n̪əʈəɾɑd͡ʒᵊ / , Sanskrit :   नटराज ,   IAST :   Naṭarāja ;   Tamil :   நடராஜர் ,   Naṭarājar ), also known as   Adalvallan   ( ஆடல்வல்லான் ,   Ādalvallāṉ ), [ 2 ]   is a depiction of   Shiva , one of the   main deities   in   Hinduism , as the divine cosmic dancer. His dance is called the   tandava . [ 3 ] [ 4 ]   The pose and artwork are described in many Hindu texts such as the   Tevaram   and   Thiruvasagam   in   Tamil   and the   Amshumadagama   and   Uttarakamika agama   in   Sanskrit   and the Grantha texts. The dance   murti   is featured in all major   Hindu temples   of   Shaivism , [ 5 ]   and is a well-known sculptural symbol in India and popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture, [ 6 ] [ 7 ]   as one of the finest illustrations of   Hindu art . [ 8 ] [ ...

  Etymology [ edit ] Chola bronze ,  Tamil Nadu , 10th or 11th century. The word Nataraja is a  Sanskrit  term, from नट  Nata  meaning "act, drama, dance" and राज  Raja  meaning "king, lord"; it can be roughly translated as  Lord of the dance  or  King of the dance . [ 22 ] [ 23 ]  According to  Ananda Coomaraswamy , the name is related to Shiva's fame as the "Lord of Dancers" or "King of Actors". [ 24 ] The form is known as  Nataraja  and as  Narteśvara  (also written Nateshwar) or  Nṛityeśvara , with all three terms meaning "Lord of the dance". However, Nataraja and Nateshwar represent different forms of Shiva. [ 25 ]   Narteśvara  stems from  Nṛtta  same as  Nata  which means "act, drama, dance" and  Ishvara  meaning "lord". [ 26 ]   Natesa  (IAST:  Naṭeśa ) is another alternate equivalent term for Nataraja found in 1st-millennium sculptures...