It was a ritual, a form of worship in the temples. The magnificent temples built in the South during the rule of the Pallavas and the Cholas (4th Century to 12th century AD) are a living testimony to their love for architecture, sculpture, paintings and primarily their belief in religion and devotion to Gods. Along with temples, the performing arts also received great encouragement. The art of dan
cing and music flowered during their rule. The tradition was nurtured, sustained and kept alive by the successive Pandya, Nayaka and Maratha rulers till the end of the 19th century. The Bhakti movement, the poets, the saints, musicians and composers helped in the growth of the art. It was in the 19th Century (during the time of the Maratha King Raja Sarfoji) that dance was codified and documented as a performing art by the Tanjore Quartet. The four brothers (sons of Nattuvanar Subbarayan) Chinnayya, Ponnayya, Shivanandam and Vadivelu were famous court musicians and dancers and contributed to shaping Indian Classical Dance. Their musical compositions form the bulk of the Bharata Natyam repertoire even today. Another factor in the preservation of the art form are the Devadasis. Their dance form was called Dasiattam and it was handed down as a living tradition from generation to generation by the Devadasis. In the the Devadasi community, women were dedicated to temples to serve the deity as dancers and musicians forming part of the elaborate rituals. These highly talented artists and the male gurus (nattuvanars) were the sole repository of the art until the early 20th century. Under the British rule the art of dance suffered a lot on account of several reasons. Political instability and the loss of patronage resulted in a setback for the art of dance. The present day revival of our classical dances is the result of curiosity on the part of few Westerners and dancers. Uday Shankar used to dance for the legendary Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova as a member of her troupe. As she desired to know about the dances of the devadasis and suggested to Uday Shankar to discover his own national dance heritage. This formed an important landmark in the history of the revival of dance in India. Pavlova later on also suggested Rukmini Devi to learn classical Indian dances instead of ballet. Rukmini Devi, a member of an influential Brahmin family, is credited with reviving the art form and bringing it to the stage during the early 1900's. She brought a lot of creative changes to the the dance costume and is easily the starting point for the current trend of dance costumes. Krishna Iyer was a Brahmin and a lawyer by profession. Out of pure interest and passion he learnt Indian dance and music. He entered a drama troupe in which he enacted female parts. Krishna Iyer founded the Madras Music Academy and teamed with Rukmini Devi Arundale to save the dance art from dying out. In co-operation with Rukmini Devi Arundale, he worked towards removing the social stigma associated with the Devadasi community. Several expressions and movements that conveyed sexually-explicit meanings were eradicated. He encouraged Brahmin girls to learn and practice the art. Rukmini also played a pioneering role in setting the dance costumes styling and designing standards. "
Krishna Iyer renamed this Indian Classical Dance as Bharatanatyam after the author of the "Natya Shastra", Bharata Muni. Its also an acronym from the three words "Bha" (Bhava/emotion), "Ra" (Raga/Melody) and "Ta" (Tala/Rhythm). We are grateful to these great lovers of art for preserving the beautiful Divine Art called "Bharatanatyam". At "Classical Indian Dance Costumes" we aspire to contribute to the continuation of this great Performing Art. We design and make customized Indian Dance Costumes to specifications
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