Kathak: Indian Classical Dance

            Nritta means pure dance. It is dance that is portrayed through rhythmic dance movements that are graceful yet sturdy and tough. It is  a huge workout for the legs and feet. This form of dance can begin slow, then lead into a faster speed and end with a big dramatic climax. It can be a tukra, short dance composition, or a toda, a longer dance composition. The purpose of nritta dance is illustrate geometrical patterns, not a deeper story, drama, or meaning within the song. The compositions mainly consist of footwork, although there thirty nritta hastas. “These thirty are used exclusively in dancing, whereas the [nritya hastas] may also be used in drama” (India’s Kathak Dance Past, Present, Future). “The source of the beauty of nritta is its clever treatment of rhythm” (Swinging Syllables Aesthetics of Kathak Dance).

            A normal Kathak repertoire includes Vandana, Thaat, Aamad, Salaami, Kavitt, Paran, Parmelu, Gat, Lari, Tihai, or Toda. Vandana, which means prayer, is a dance form where the dancer begins with an invocation to a deity of Vishnu or Ganesh, asking for the blessing and an auspicious moment so that dances can be performed without any problems. Thaat is a traditional composition where the dance perfomrs a short play and finishes in a statuesque pose. Spoken rhythmic pattern known as bol is introduced in Aamad, Persian for entry. Salaami, derived from the Muslim greeting salaam , is a salutation to the audience. Kavitt is a poem based dance. Paran is danced to both bols and a pakhawaj, instead of just one or the other. Parmelu, or Primalu, uses bols that mimick nature. The kathak dancer dances to sounds like "kukuthere", birds, "jhijhikita", ghungroo sounds, and "tigdadigdig", peacock strut, and more. Gat, coming from the word, gait, meaning to walk, is a dance that "walks" the audience through everyday life scenes. Towards the end of the dance recital or concert, the intensity of the music, dance, and drama picks up. Lari is a composition based purely on feet that has several variations on the theme. The Lari leads into the Tihai. The Tihai is another footwork composition that has bols that are repeated in sets of three and ends the dance on "sam" which means together on  the beat. Immediately, the dancer goes into Today, a long composition that fits with a time-cycle and ends on "sam". Ending on "sam" of the beat gives for a clean finish.