with religious life, and dance was no
exception to this pattern. In their art,
dancers merely follow the divine model,
since in Indian mythology Shivais the pre-
eminent dancer; indeed, in his dancing he
first creates the universe and later destroys
it. Several classical dance forms can be
directly tied to specific Hindu temples. The
Bharatanatyam form developed in the
temples of Tamil Nadubeginning at the
Brhadeshvartemple in Tanjore, and is
immortalized in the sculptures of the Shiva
temple at Chidambaram.The Orissistyle
came from the temple of Jagannathin the
city of Puri, on the Bay of Bengal. Some of
the other classical styles were traditionally
performed only in temples, or had their
beginnings in religious festivals: the
Kathakaliform in the state of Kerala, the
Kuchipudiform in Andhra Pradesh, the
Chauform in eastern India, and the
Manipuriform in Manipur. The only
exception is the northern Indian Kathak
form, whose birth and performance lay in
a court rather than a temple setting, but
which in its subject matter often treated
religious themes, particularly ones drawn
from devotion to the god Krishna.
All of these styles share a highly artic-
ulated language of gesture(mudra) and
expression, through which the dancer
can tell a story to the audience. As in all
the classical arts, the dancer’s aim is not
only to entertain, but to create and con-
vey a particular aesthetic mood (rasa),
which will evoke a corresponding emo-
tion (bhava) from the audience. Beyond
these general similarities, each form has
a certain characteristic and stylistic
quality. Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and
Orissi are the most clearly related forms,
but where Bharatanatyam presents a
sharply geometric line, with a stiff upper
body, the lines presented by Kuchipudi
and Orissi are progressively softer,
rounder, and more fluid. Kathakali is
characterized by elaborate costumes
and stage makeup, and also by its partic-
ular stress on developing and control-
ling facial mobility. These things
facilitate ease and power of expression.
Manipuri and Chau are both highly
athletic forms, clearly showing the
influence of folk dance, and Chau is
unusual in that the dancers always
wear masks, which sets a prevailing
mood. Kathak is the only dance form in
which the legs are kept straight; this
form stresses intricate footwork in
which the bells on the dancer’s ankles
serve as a complement and counter-
point to the drum, combined with dra-
matic turns and spins.
As mentioned above, all the dance
forms except for Kathak developed in
some sort of religious context. In many
of these latter cases, dance was an offer-
ing presented to the deity, and was
primarily performed for the deity’s
entertainment, although the otherDance
Dancers performing in the Manipuri style.