At IHU, learning path of the student is designed to include several elements that go into the making of a professional classical dancer. These are: body conditioning exercises, physical technique of dance steps and movements, narrative technique of mime to tell a story, interpret poetry, portray dramatic roles and characters through the language of dance; teaching of dance repertoire—traditional and contemporary; music of dance including singing, complex rhythms and oral recitation of drum mnemonics. The students will teach in the chosen setting and also learn to choreograph dances suitable to their students’ cultural background.
This is a special program for those who have trained in traditional Indian dancing for many years under the tutelage of a guru or at a dancing school. The program provides an opportunity to obtain credits for this training after evaluation of previous training. Those who already have done Arangetram would be required to take only three additional courses at IHU in order to be eligible for a diploma from IHU. The three core courses are designed to provide practical experience in either a temple or university setting. The students will teach in the chosen setting and also learn to choreograph dances suitable to their students’ cultural background. Bharatanatyam, the classical dance of Tamil Nadu in South India is one of the most ancient and highly developed forms of stylized dance. Surviving over a period of about two thousand years, the original style underwent numerous changes and acquired a variety of connotations: aesthetic, religious, occult with differences in emphasis upon one or the other during different periods of its long history. Today this dance style is no longer confined to the region of its origin but is practiced and performed by dancers of most other parts of the country. However, the essentially regional flavor is still retained in its association with the distinctive music, language, poetry and local cultural overtones of South India. The learning path of the student is designed to include several elements that go into the making of a professional classical dancer. These are: body conditioning exercises, physical technique of dance steps and movements, narrative technique of mime to tell a story, interpret poetry, portray dramatic roles and characters through the language of dance; teaching of dance repertoire—traditional and contemporary; music of dance including singing, complex rhythms and oral recitation of drum mnemonics.
Core Courses:-
Requirements for Master’s Degree (Advanced Diploma) in Divine Dancing (Total 30 credits):
HUC 5001: Dance traditions of India 3 credits
HUC 5002: Dance choreography 3 credits
HUC 5003: Teaching Practicum 3 credits
Following credits can be transferred after evaluation of Documents from traditional Bharatanatyam training:
HDB 5001: The Basics Of Bharatanatyam (3 credits): History of Bharatanatyam, Nritta, Nritya and Natya, Adavus in Bharatanatyam; initial steps and other types, hand gestures, and Ardhamandala.
HDB 5002: Introduction to Nrityakala (3 credits): Basics of movements, rhythm, body coordination, singing and storytelling.
HDB 5003: Natyarambham (3 credits): Basic steps – Tatta, Natta, Visharu, TattiMetti, and Teermanam.
HDB 5004: Nritta (3 credits): A pure dance or sequences of dance that are non-interpretive in nature. This means that these steps, movements, or gestures are not meant to convey any message or thought. They are primarily meant to add beauty to the dance form.
HDB 5005: Nrittya (3 credits): An interpretative dance that involves a lot of sentiments, emotions, and description. The gestures in this stream convey messages like depicting a king, indicating that it is morning time, etc. This consists of leg, hand, neck, head, and eye movements to convey the message.
HDB 5006: Natya (3 credits): A dance drama with its main technique, Abhinaya. It involves acting out a story for the audience using expressions. The actors may dress like the character. Natya is usually performed with a mythological theme, like in the stories of Ramayana, Krishnaleela, etc. This would involve enacting parts of Ramayana or Mahabharata.
HDB 5007: Arangetram (3 credits): a solo debut performance in a public theatre setting, which signifies the successful completion of training as a professional performer.
HDB 5008 : Bharata Natyam South Indian Classical Dance (3 Credits)
Explore transformational aesthetic experience of this 3,000 year old art form with Kalakshetra trained Dance Artist Gayathri Kiran. This online class is for beginners who wish to learn the ancient Indian art of divine storytelling through dance. Students will be introduced to ragam, talam, adavu, jati and abhinaya. Individual and group training will be provided to help students develop the physical coordination and choreographic techniques required for competent practice and confident performance.
Admission requirements: A Bachelor’s degree. For those without the Bachelor’s degree, an Advanced Diploma will be awarded and the Master’s degree will be awarded upon completion of the Bachelor’s degree.
