I. CLASSICAL DANCE DRAMA FORMS
A. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
1. Overtly dramatic
2. Lines sung by on-stage vocalists
3. Dance & codified gesture movement are major elements
4. Elaborate forms of stylized entry
a) Imaginative use of curtain
5. Stylized gait
6. Choreographic patterns for moving around the stage
7. Group choreography for high points (battles)
B. Regional Dance Drama Forms currently practiced
1. Kuchipudi - South India - Andhra Pradesh
2. Kutiyattam - South India - Kerala
3. Yaksagana - South India - Karnataka -
4. Bhagavata mela - South India - Melattur in Tamil Nadu
5. Ras lila - Northeast India - Uttar Pradesh - near Dehli
6. Ramlila - North India - Delhi & vicinity -
7. Krishnattam - South India - Kerala
8. Ankiya nat - Northeast India - Assam
9. Kathakali - South India - Kerala
C. KATHAKALI
1. Dance-drama of Kerala, in South India
2. Developed around 17th Century
3. Supported by political & cultural elite
4. Magnificent costume & makeup
5. Masculine style of dance
6. Sharp energetic movements
7. Years of rigorous training
8. 100's of hand gestures
9. Intricate & powerful foot rhythms
10. Violent & terrifying facial expressions
11. Demons & good humans
12. Tells the struggles of heroic figures from epic stories
a) Mahabharata
b) Ramayana
c) Puranas
d) Vedas
13. Ultimate victory of good over evil after the struggle
14. Stage
a) A black void (no background decor)
b) Represents the mythic world of the gods & heroes
c) Transcends time & space
d) Physical characteristics
(1) About 5 meters square
(2) Coarse mats cover floor
(3) Curtain -
15. The traditional performance begins at dusk & lasts until dawn
16. Performance sequence:
a) Ceremonial lamp lit before performance
(1) 1 side to performers
(2) 1 side to audience
b) Drumming (on chenda) to announce the performance
c) Mangalacharan
(1) Invocation to the gods
d) Todayam
(1) Two dancers - representing Maya (illusion) & Lila (the endless play of
cosmic forces) - perform a preliminary dance
(2) The curtain concealing the 2 Todayam dancers is held by 2 men - it falls
away the moment reality approaches & the Todayam dancers begin
e) Melappadam
(1) Musical prelude - drumming & singing
f) Prayers to the gods and gurus (teachers)
g) Purappad - going forth
(1) symbolic depiction of the history of life on earth
h) The story to be enacted
i) Curtain reintroduced - characters exit behind it
17. Music
a) Vocal & percussive only (no melodic instruments)
(1) Chenda
(a) large drum played with 2 sticks slightly curved at the ends
(2) Madalam
(a) Softer sound, played with hands
(3) Large bronze cymbals
(4) Conch shell
b) Musicians remain visible to the audience throughout the performance
c) At least two vocalists & two players of each instrument type, so they can
alternate
18. Actor training
a) Begins at 10-12 years
b) Basic training lasts 6-10 years
c) Daily training varies seasonally (due to weather)
d) Massage, oil baths & exercises to prepare body
e) Study includes
(1) Colliattam - dance practice
(2) Complex code of facial expressions, eye movements, gestures, poses &
stances
(3) Character attributes & roles
(4) Literature upon which plays are based
(5) Memorizing entire texts of plays in the company repertoire
f) After mastering basics, then may enact a role
(1) Only minor roles at first
(2) Advanced ones after demonstrating proficiency
19. Aharya - costume & makeup
a) Most elaborate & complex of all Indian dance forms
b) Makeup:
(1) 4 hours to put on; 2 hours to remove
(2) Denotes character types & personality
(3) Consists of facial colors & beard - like extensions (chutti) made of
paper & attached with rice powder & lime
c) Costumes
(1) Male characters -
(a) Bulging skirts - often white
(b) Jackets with full sleeves
(2) Female characters -
(a) Hair in a knot at top of forehead
(b) Veil falling down back
(c) Tight fitting jacket
(d) White sari
d) Headgear
(1) Crowns or orbs - highly ornamented
e) Jewelry
(1) Necklaces, bracelets, breastplates, ankle bells
20. The significant character types:
a) Pacca (Green)
(1) Divine figures, kings & epic heroes
(2) Rama, Krishna, Arjuna, Vishnu
(3) Green faces black eyes, red lips, white beard (chutti)
(4) Red jacket, white skirts with orange & black stripes; many upper body
accessories. If Krishna is depicted, he wears a blue jacket & yellow skirt
(5) Medium sized crown
b) Minukku (Shining)
(1) Good female characters & sages & Brahmins
(2) Male characters have a tuft of hair (jatamukta)
(3) Female characters have elongated eyes & eyebrows (to show grace &
refinement)
(4) Costume is a stylization of everyday practice
(a) Holy men - saffron robes
(b) Brahmins - simple cloth over head
(c) Sages - simple loincloth & headdress w/leaves
c) Katti (Knife)
(1) Demonic, arrogant or evil characters
(2) Ravana, the Ashuras
(3) Less refined than Pacca & Minukku
(4) Green face (to indicate nobility) with red & black; white blobs on tip
of nose & forehead; upturned red mustache
(5) Costume & crown identical to Green characters
d) Tati (Beard)
(1) Three types - according to the colored of the beards - either red, black or
white
(2) Vella tati - White beards
(a) Divine beings - pious & virtuous but also capricious
(b) Hanuman the Monkey King
(c) Delicate red white & black patterns on face
(d) Small patch of green on nose to indicate pious nature
(e) White beard & furry white coat; white skirt; gold ornaments on chest
(f) Wide-brimmed crown
(3) Cukanna Tati - Red beards
(a) Extremely vicious evil & vile
(b) Red beard & red face makeup
(c) Black lips, protruding canine teeth (fangs) at sides of mouth
(d) Larger white nose & forehead knobs
(e) Huge crowns
(f) Furry jacket
(4) Karutta tati - Black beards
(a) Extremely evil & also scheming
(b) Red upper face, black lower face & black beard, protruding fangs
(c) Black shirt; blue skirt
(d) Bucket shaped crown
(e) Flower on nose
e) Kari (Black)
(1) Evil & grotesque female demons
(2) Black faces with red & white spots
(3) Entirely black costume; exaggerated false breasts
(4) Bucket shaped headdress
f) Teppu (Special)
(1) Animal characters & unusual demons
21. Properties
a) Curtain held by two stage attendants
b) Square wooden stool
c) Weapons
(1) Mace, bow & arrow, sword, club, shield
d) Overhead canopy
22. Staging conventions
a) Actors occupy center stage, near the audience
b) Characters of higher status occupy stage right
c) Entrance conventions
(1) Use of curtain
(2) Entrance from upstage right or left, without curtain
(3) Entrance through audience, without curtain
(4) Entrances (2) & (3) are considered more theatrical
23. Dance techniques
a) Basic stance
(1) Feet placed wider than shoulders & pointed to sides, knees bent &
splayed to sides, upper body erect
b) Movement patterns
(1) Rectangular, straight, circular & diagonal
