Abhinaya in dance

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 23 May 2006, 18:22

Ravi: thank you for the link. I know very little about kuchipudi and found the reading very informative. As far as bharatanatyam is concerned, I would argue that this style has developed towards a more vakyartha-oriented approach to abhinaya in the recent years. This trend has met the approval of non-indian audiences, whose little understanding of the sahitya content would necessarily affect their ability to grasp the nuances of padartha-oriented abhinaya . The choreographic collaborations between western dancers and bharatanatyam artists have also favoured the visual element over the recitative and aural ones [sahitya]. But this is a very personal opininion and possibly a controversial one.
regards,
rasikapriya

If an audience doesn't understand the lyrics, what difference will it make if padArtha abhinaya is used or vAkyArtha abhinaya? It should be tough to follow both without help.
Ravi

rasikapriya21 · Post by **rasikapriya21** » 24 May 2006, 11:30

Ravi: I agree with you, understanding the sahitya is crucial to the appreciation of any abhinaya dance. But I feel that the vakyartha- abhinaya has a greater potential to engage the imagination of audiences who are unfamiliar with the language. The language of vakyartha-abhinaya is evocative rather than descriptive: here a visual image is created to convey the bhava and the overall meaning of a stanza. In padartha-abhinaya, on the other hand, the meaning gradually unfolds along the logical-linear structure of the text. Here not understanding the lyrics is a great disadvantage, as these structures cannot be understood intuitively.

It is difficult to put these toughts into words.. What I am trying to say is only based on my personal experience as a non Indian rasika, but I ain't no scholar..
regards,
rasikaprya21