Unit 13 and 14 Kathak Stylistic Features Research

Origins of Kathak and Kathakars and where it comes from:

Kathak is a prominent ancient Indian classical dance and is thought to have started from the wandering bards of North India known as Kathakars, meaning storytellers. These Kathakars traveled and conveyed stories by means of music, dance and songs akin to the early Greek theatre.

Who it was performed by:

Originally the traveling bards in ancient northern India and Pakistan known as Kathakars or storytellers performed Kathak dance.

Comparison to Western Classical Ballet:

Ballet and Kathak are both classical dance forms imbibed at an early age and stage in life. In Kathak, the dancers practice Chakkar' (where they turn around on their heel and fix a center point). Similarly, in ballet the dancers pirouette on one foot, but on the toes rather than the heel. It is seen that ballet is much more elegant form of dance

Mudras:

Mudras are a  key stylistic feature in Kathak dance and  are a non-verbal way of communication consisting of hand gestures and finger-postures,they are symbolic patterns which take the place of a spoken word however still being effective. An example of this would be...

       This Mudra symbolizes a Swans beak.

 

Ghunguru:

 The Ghungurus are ankle bells tied to the feet of classical Indian dancers. A string of Ghungurus can range between 10-200 bells that are knotted together.

The Ghungurus look like this:

   

Tatkar

The word Tatkar refers to the rhythmic sequence. In Kathak dance the main syllables of Tatkaar are: Ta Thei Thei Tat, Aa Thei Thei Tat

 

  

Chakars:

A chakkar is a spinning circle or a turn, unlike a  pirouette in Ballet a chakkar is usually lower to the ground, staying grounded whilst spinning on the balls of your feet. It is also usually guided by ones hand to follow the spin.