Kathak - Classical Dance from North India

• devotional dance
• story telling
• pure dance (i.e. pure technique & rhythm; no meaning behind the dance)
• use of hand gestures (mudra)
• use of facial expression (abhinaya)
• intricate footfall patterns
• the wearing of bells at the ankles

• based on the Hindustani music system of Northern India
• heavy influence by the moghuls, incorporating court aspects
• less strict use of hand gestures and facial expressions
• improvisational aspects
• the bells are strung on a rope, (usually by the dancer personally), rather than attached to a leather strap, then tied to the ankles

"The word Kathak is derived from Katha, meaning story-telling. Kathaka refers to the community of artists whose hereditary profession it was to narrate history while entertaining. With dance, music, and mime, these storytellers of ancient Indua would render the great social treatises and epics of ancient times (e.g. the Mahabharata).

From its early form as a religious expression of devotion to the Hindu gods, Kathak gradually moved out of the temples and into the courts of the reigning rulers -the Hindu maharajas and later the Muslim nawabs - often maintaining its religious overtones. Additionally, with these rulers' excessive wealth and preoccupation with lavish entertainment, a class of dancing girls and courtesans emerged to entertain in the palaces. Later, during the mid-1880s, Kathak enjoyed a renaissance and gained prominence among the kings (and feudal lords) as not only a form of entertainment, but with growing interest in the dance as a classical art form."
copyright © 1986 by Chitresh Das

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