Kolattam
'Kollattam' or
the stick dance is one of the most popular dance narratives in Andhra Pradesh. It is also
called as Kolannalu or Kolkolannalu. rural art usually performed during village
festivals, kolattam is a combination of rhythmic movements, songs and music. It is known as Dandia ras in
Gujrat, Garbha in Rajasthan etc. The Kolatam group comprises of dancers in the range of 8 to 40. In
kolattam, performed by 8 to 40 artists grouped in pairs, The stick provides the
main rhythm. The artists lead by the leader move into two circles, the inner
circle receiving the strikes while the outer circle delivering them. Kolatam offers a great variety of entertainment to
the spectators as well as the participants.
Puli Vesham
This is an open air performance usually enacted during Dasara or Moharrum in
villages and during festivals in towns.The costume and makeup of the Puli Vesham is complicated. The
body of the person who plays tiger is smeared with yellow paint with bold black
stripes. The Puli Vesham is a dance performed by two, the hunter and
the hunted. It is one of the most popular dance
forms in Andhra Pradesh and variations are seen throughout South India. Both the
Hindus and the Muslims participate in this performance with full
zest and spirit.
The dance is supplemented with musical instruments. Two participants perform the dance. One plays the role of a tiger and
the other of an archer. The dance
usually starts with the 'tiger' jumping and marching to the rhythm of
drum-beats.The entire atmosphere becomes hilarious with the children watching
the fun with awe and fear and the elders with excitement and thrill.
Kuchipudi - The Divine
Dance Form
Andhra Pradesh is associated with
the divine dance form, as it were, Kuchipudi.
Kuchipudi, the indigenous style of dance of Andhra Pradesh took its birth and effloresced
in the village of the same name, originally called Kuchelapuri or Kuchelapuram,
a hamlet in Krishna district. Kuchipudi
has always been an inherent and inseparable part of the Andhra tradition. The
genesis of Kuchipudi art as of most Indian classical dances is associated
with religions. It is famous
for its grace, elegance and charm. It was Abdul Tana Shah, the grand nephew of
Sultan Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah of the Qutb Shahi dynasty. Kuchipudi is a perfect
balance between three aspects- Nritta, Nritya and Natya.
According to
tradition, Kuchipudi dance was originally performed only by men and they all belonged to the
Brahmain community.These Brahmain families were known popularly as Bhagavathalu of
Kuchipudi.A very charming
form of abhinaya is the satvikabhinaya which includes three steps. It begins
with facial expressions and eye movements, followed by hand gestures and
eventually movements of the entire body. The
most popular Kuchipudi dance is the pot dance in which a dancer keeps a pot
filled with water
on her head and feet kept on a brass plate. Kuchipudi
plays are enacted in the open air and on improvised stages. Kuchipudi, the dainty
dance form of Andhra Pradesh is profoundly aesthetic and the experience of
watching it live is most exhilarating and cannot be expressed in words !!
PERINI
 The Perini Thandavam is an aesthetically performed male dance of the warriors.The
warriors performed this powerful dance in front of the idol of Nataraja or Lord
Shiva, before they left for the battlefield.
The kings of the Kakatiya dynasty in Warangal
patronized this form. The
sculptures of the Ramappa Temple at Warangal throw considerable light on this
delightful male dance form. This dance is
performed to the accompaniment of the beat of the drums.Although
the Perini dance form almost disappeared after the decline of the Kakatiya
dynasty, the renaissance of the dance form was brought about by the doyen of
Andhra Natyam, Nataraja Ramakrishna. In
short, Perini Tandavam has both spiritual and artistic significance.
Andhra
Natyam
Andhra Natyam is a classical dance form the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is
a style that became extinct but was revived in the 20th century. It is derived
from the general soup of south Indian dance forms. Therefore, it shows strong
similarities to such forms as Kuchipudi, and Bharat Natyam, as well as the older
forms of Dasi Attam, Kacheri Attam, Chinna Melam, and a host of others.
 This
was a spiritual dance form. The dances performed in royal courts to
the accompaniment of classical music were called Carnatakam. This was an
intellectual art form. The other kind of dance form Darbari Aatam, appealed more
to the commoners and educated them about their religion, culture and social
life. These dances were performed outside the temple precincts in the
courtyards. Each group had a coterie of dancers and those who resided in the
temple premises did not go to the court of kings or zamindars to dance. The
dance form of Andhra Natyam was initially known by different names - Kacheri
Aatam, Kelika, Daasi Aatam, Chinna Melam, Nattuva Melam, Carnatakam and so on.
Originally it was a temple dance performed by
devadasis as a form of worship. In the days of yore, wherever there was a
temple, there was some form of dance associated with the region. These dance
forms were categorised into three kinds - Agama Nartanam, Carnatakam and Darbari
Aatam. There are a number of unresolved questions concerning Andhra Natyam. Is it really a distinct dance form, or is it just another flavour of the
Kuchipudi / Bharat Natyam tradition? How rigorous was the scholarship in its
reconstruction? Can we assign an age that extends back further than its
reconstruction? Is it even possible to reconstruct a tradition, especially in a
near absence of reliable documentation? It is unfortunate that these questions
are being answered according to political agendas, and not according to valid
academic and artistic criteria.
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