Kathak In India

Kathak Dance

The Kathak dance of North India was said to have evolved from an ancient story telling tradition .The performer narrates myths and religious poetry using subtle hand gestures and facial expressions .It became a full-fledged hereditary art and Kathak is the name of the art. It was one of the ancient, great classical forms and was recognized in the Hindu Shastras, the artistic canons for these arts which were still religious.

Kathak was then introduced as a form of 'entertainment in the courts of the Hindu Rajas or Kings and became a secular art. It. is during this period that it began its development as a distinct and individualistic style. In a great period of renaissance in India, the culture of Krishna was at its height. The major part of the interpretive themes centered around Radha Krishna (symbolic of the urge of the soul for the universal or divine soul). And these themes were developed into passages of mimetic dance ( or , drama, as they soon became ) retelling incidents in the life of Krishna. Simultaneously, material verses using, words in praise of Krishna coupled with rhythmic syllables came to be composed and used in Kathak. The Kathak dance form depicts 'Life'. The three phases creation, preservation and destruction are clearly reflected through this media. It is therefore based on natural movements and is not confined to mudras. Its poses more life like than sculpturous and abhinaya subtle and true to life cover a very large canvas.