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INDIAN DANCES
India offers a number of Classical Indian dance forms, each of which can be traced to different parts of the country. The eight main styles are Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Mohiniattam, Manipuri and Kathakali. Besides, there are several forms of Indian folk dances such as Bhangra, and special dances observed in regional festivals. Most Indian dance is based on the treatise Natyashastra by the sage Bharata Muni, which explains the Indian art of acting. Acting or natya is a broad concept which encompasses both drama and dance.The Shaivite cult abounds in numerous myths of Shiva and his consort Devi performing dance in their various manifestations. The tradition hence reveres him as both, 'Adi-nratya-guru' - the first teacher of dance, and Natesh or Nataraja - the king of dance. In him revealed both faces of dance - 'lasya' and 'tandava', of which all subsequent dance forms were offshoots. 'Lasya', the dance of aesthetic delight revealed beauty, grace, love and all tender aspects of existence. 'Lasya' is the mode that defined many of Shiva's iconographic forms - Kalyana-Sundara, Vrashavahana, Yogeshvara, Katyavalambita, Sukhasanamurti, Vyakhyanamurti, Chinamudra, Anugrahamurti, and Chandrashekhara.
Devi, Shiva's variously named consort, is alluded to have performed dance in her manifestations as Kali - Mahakali or Shamshana-Kali, and Bhairavi. Devi had many other forms, each representing a particular 'bhava'. Each of such forms was modeled using the dance-mode in which its characteristic 'bhava' transpired. Thus, in modeling Devi's other forms, too, a similar dance-iconography was used. Vishnu resorted to dance once in his incarnation as Vamana, when in mere two strides he spanned three worlds and won for himself Trivikrama - conqueror of three worlds, or Vishnukrant epithet. Vishnu as Krishna danced once to subdue venomous serpent chief Kaliya and many times for delighting 'gopis' - Radha in particular. Indra had at 'Indrasabha' - his court, numerous dancing nymphs - Urvashi, Menaka being better known. Besides dancing, these nymphs were used for seducing opponents.
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