Abhinaya is the use of the face and hands in an expressive manner, in an Indian dance.
Jathiswaram is a song consisting of only swaras(notes) and jathis(complex beats) to which the dancer dances while having no abhinaya, or expression. It shows how versatile the dancer is, and her capabilities. It is differenf from other dances in that other dances involve abhinaya, and tell a story through facial expressions, and how the body moves to the music to narrate the story. Jathiswaram does not do this.
Archaic Indian dances refer to traditional dance forms that have deep historical roots in Indian culture, often linked to religious and spiritual practices. Notable examples include Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, and Kathakali, each with unique storytelling techniques, costumes, and regional influences. These dances often incorporate intricate footwork, expressive hand gestures (mudras), and facial expressions (abhinaya) to convey emotions and narratives. They serve not only as entertainment but also as a means of preserving cultural heritage and spiritual expression.
There are different mudras, depending on the source. In Natya Shastra there are more than are described in Abhinaya Darpanam.Prof.Raghuraman of Kalakshetra is working on translation of Koothanool which contains over 300 hastas/mudras.
bharatanatyam dancers are all about many different things. sometimes, we are trying to get a story across to the audience - could be mythological, or personal. bharatanatyam is also composed of rigorous footwork, which are made to match the rhythms of the mridangam and tabla players/musicians. mainly bharatanatyam is a very old dance form done by both genders to convey feeling, storytelling, and rhythm. Bharatanatyam, in its highest moment, is the embodiment of music in a visual form", said Balasaraswathi. The sastra's stipulated that a dedicated dancer must be equally dedicated to music. In her demonstrations of Bharata natyam abroad, Balasaraswathi emphasised the connection between dance movement and raga (tune) expression in abhinaya (mime), with the subtle expressions of gamakas (voice modulations), intonations of sruti, and the development of improvisation in niraval" Most of the contemporary choreographers and dancers may use some of the formal Bharatanatyam technique or its elements to stage group performances presenting various themes such as nationalism, unity of religions, the sanctity of the environment, the animal rights activism, the greatness of a king or a political party, or even the delightfulness of Coca-Cola. In Vande Mataram, a dance festival organised under the auspices of Natyarangam, a project of Narada Gana Sabha in 1997 in Chennai, there was a host of topics: the caste and reservation systems, threat of nuclear weapons, evils of the current education system, bribery, religious fanaticism,AIDS, the population explosion, corruption in politics, secularism, the Dandi March, literacy, agriculture,the greed for riches, the Chinese aggression, mechanisation, industrialisation. Most recently, some dancers of Nrityanjali Academy (Andhra Pradesh) managed to draw their divine inspiration even from Condom Songs. The true Bharatanatyam is not a vulgar form of entertainment but a sacred ritual that is supposed to bring the rasanubhava (catharsis, or spiritual upliftment) to the rasika (audience) and the dancer.
Abhinaya is the use of the face and hands in an expressive manner, in an Indian dance.
Expression
son of Bhojadeva Jayadeva has written: 'Gita govinda, with abhinaya' 'Gitagovindakavyam'
The cast of Anubhava - 1984 includes: Abhinaya as Gauri Umashree as Padmi
The cast of Abhinaya - 1938 includes: Dhiraj Bhattacharya as Hirak Roy Sadhona Bose as Manisha Ahindra Choudhury as Pitambar Choudhury Preeti Majumdar as Ajoy Mallick Lalit Mitra as Kunjababu Satya Mukherjee as Booking clerck Pratima Mukherjee as Rajkumari Ratna
Ubhayakar Shivaram Krishna Rao has written: 'Abhinaya kale' -- subject(s): Dance, Gesture
The cast of Isaac Newton Son of Philipose - 2013 includes: Lal Abhinaya
Jathiswaram is a song consisting of only swaras(notes) and jathis(complex beats) to which the dancer dances while having no abhinaya, or expression. It shows how versatile the dancer is, and her capabilities. It is differenf from other dances in that other dances involve abhinaya, and tell a story through facial expressions, and how the body moves to the music to narrate the story. Jathiswaram does not do this.
The cast of Naadodigal - 2009 includes: Ananya as Nallamaal Bharani as Paandi Abhinaya as Pavithra Vijay Vasanth as Chandran
Jai Shankar Prasad has written: 'Indrajala' 'Abhinaya Candragupta' -- subject(s): Drama 'Skandagupta Vikramaditya' -- subject(s): Drama 'Ansu =' 'Iravati' -- subject(s): Fiction 'Titali'
The cast of Azhagiya Tamizh Magan - 2007 includes: Sriman as Athlete Namitha as Dhanalakshmi Shakeela as Shakeela Appukutty as Temple Boy Shriya Saran as Abhinaya Sayaji Shinde as Corrupt jeweller Ashish Vidyarthi as Anand Chelliah
The cast of Friends - 2001 includes: Sathyapriya Suriya as Chandru Sriman as Gauthom Vadivelu as Nesamoni Devayani as Padmini Santhana Bharathi as Sethupathy Madan Bob as Manager Sundaresan Ramesh Khanna as Krishnamoorthy Crane Manohar as Painter Pyramid Natarajan Abhinaya Sri as Abhirami