10 Qualities of a Classical Dancer


All classical art forms in India, be it Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Odissi - All these forms have basis in the various ancient scriptures.

It is interesting to go through the various concepts that are not just applicable to Indian classical dance but are very relevant to any art form. For example , the qualities of a classical dancer as explained in Abhinayadarpana :

पात्रस्य प्राणाः --

जवः स्थिरत्वं रेखा च भ्रमरी दृष्टिरश्रमः ॥ २७॥


मेधा श्रद्धा वचो गीतं पात्रप्राणा दश स्मृताः ।

एवंविधेन पात्रेण नृत्यं कार्यं विधानतः ॥ २८॥


Javaha Sthiratwam Rekha cha
Bhramari Drishti Shramaha
Medha Shraddha Vacho Geetham
Paathra praanaa Dasha Smruthaha


Javaha - Agility of a dancer

Agility and nimbleness are important qualities of a dancer. 


Sthirathwam - Steadiness

Steadiness is a factor of how well a dancer's body balances as well as maintains the center of concentrated force as the body moves through space.


Rekha - Clean graceful lines

Clean and graceful lines are key to attaining perfection for any dancer. It is the spatial arrangement of the limbs and other upangas with the main anga without losing integrity of the overall aesthetics.


Brahmari - Perfecting circular movements

Perfection of circular movements is critical to a dancer. The perfect sense of balance and spatial composition is essential to attain this quality. Personally i think Brahamri can be attained only after Javaha, Sthiratwam and Rekha have been perfected.


Drishti - Eye movements

Eyes are the mirror into your soul. And for a dancer it is an important asset to make a connection to the rasika(audience) and also to drive the focus and concentration to the movements thus adding beauty and grace to the presentation.


Shramaha - Hardwork and Perseverence

Like everything else in life, hard work is the only way a dancer can attain his/her best. 


Medha - Intelligence 

Intelligence and the quest for knowledge will raise any dancer to greater heights.


Shradha - Devotion/Focus

Devotion/Focus towards the art form will set the dancers mind to imbibe the concepts fruitfully.


Vacho - Art of speaking well

Being able to articulate well is what Vacho stands for.


Geetham - Knowledge of music
Knowledge of music is inevitable for a dancer.


This is a brief overview of the various qualities of a classicla dancer. I will be elaborating on each one of these in my future posts.





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