Nritya Kalanidhi Award | 04 Jan 2020

Recently, Bharatnatyam dancer Priyadarshini Govind has been conferred with Nritya Kalanidhi Award.

The award has been presented by the Madras Music Academy for her performance and efforts to propagate the art form.

It is one among the eight classical dances of India.
It was conventionally performed by Devadasis (girls offered to God in the temple) in Hindu Temples of South India. Thus, it is also known as ‘Dasiattam’.
It was developed in Tanjore and other regions of South India prominently Tamil Nadu, and could possibly be the oldest classical dance form of India (around 2000 years old).
The Abhinaya Darpana by Nandikesvara is one of the main sources of textual material for the study of the technique and grammar f body movement in Bharatnatyam Dance.
Bharatnatyam dance is known to be ekaharya, where one dancer takes on many roles in a single performance.
The dance involves transitional movements of the leg, hip and arm. Expressive eye movements and hand gestures are used to convey emotions. It encompasses of Bhav, Rag, Ras and Taal.
The accompanying orchestra consists of a vocalist, a mridangam player, violinist or veena player, a flautist and a cymbal player. The person who conducts the dance recitation is the Nattuvanar.
In its usual form, the dance is generally broken into seven main parts – Alarippu, Jatiswaran, Shabda, Varna, Pada, Thillana and Sloka.
Bharatnatyam poses are depicted on the gopurams of the Chidambaram temple (Tamil Nadu).
E. Krishna Iyer and Rukmini Devi Arundale had played a significant role in helping the dance regain its lost popularity and position.