ABOUT US

GMA Kalayalam is a venue where Gloucestershire Malayalee Association members learn Bharathnatyam, the classical Indian dance form that originated in the temples of Tamil Nadu. There are more than 30 students are learning the nuances of this discipline under the tutelage of Mrs. Jessitha Chandar.The Kalayalam is started by the effort of Mrs. Lovely Sebastian and Dr. Maya Biju and they co-ordinate the team.

Gloucestershire Malayalee Association, GMA aims at preserving and enriching the cultural heritage of the Malayalee community in Gloucestershire. GMA is working among all the Malayalees living in Gloucester and Cheltenham, the two major towns in Gloucestershire County.Our main objective as an Association is to ensure that our children should interact and observe others from their own background and in the process learn, develop and preserve the uniqueness of our culture and traditions. To achieve this goal we have been conducting Indian Classical Dance.

Jesse Chandar, who has learnt and performed Bharathanatyam in the Thanchavur style for 20 years and has obtained a diploma in the same field. Jesse is also hoping to introduce the children to the UK grading system, which will be of great use in their futures.While highly acclaimed for her technical and virtuosic skill , she stays deeply rooted in the inherent spirituality of the art form, which is the driving inspiration her own practice. It is this, that she believes fuels her artistic and personal journey.

Dance is not only the media of total enjoyment but also enriches the personality of the students. It helps them by developing various social skills including graceful movements, stage confidence, self confidence as well as social networking skills. It also provides an opportunity to connect to and relate to Indian culture.

Bharathnatyam, the classical Indian dance form that originated in the temples of Tamil NaduThere are 3 aspects to dance; Nritta, Nritya and Natya. Nritta is a pure dance without any emotions, expressions or sahityam. E.g. Alarippu, Jatiswaram. Nritya has sahityam (a sentence which means something). It has emotions, expressions and has a meaning shown by the hastas. E.g. Ganeshakautvam, Ranganjali, Karthikeyakautvam. Natya is when a person is portraying a character. E.g. All padamsThere are 4 types of abhinaya in dance. They areAnghika - Physical or body movements.Vachika - the song being played, poetryAaharya - Ornamentation of a character/dancer e.g. jewellery, costumeSatvika - Involuntary movements e.g. trembling, break of voice, tears

A professional Bharata Natyam dancer must demonstrate a number of qualities. As Sangitaratnakara puts it, the true dance is connected to the beauty of the body, therefore any other dance is simply a parody .The Abhinaya Darpana, one of the two most authoritative texts on Bharata Natyam, has a sloka that describes Patra Prana Dasha Smrutaha — the ten essentials of the dancer: Javaha (agility), Sthirathvam (steadiness), Rekha (graceful lines), Bhramari (balance in pirouettes), Drishti (glance), Shramaha (hard work), Medha(intelligence), Shraddha (devotion), Vacho (good speech), and Geetam (singing ability).A professional danseuse (patra), according to the Abhinaya Darpana, must possess the following qualities: She has to be youthful, slender, beautiful, with large eyes, with well-rounded breasts, self-confident, witty, pleasing, well aware of when to dance and when to stop, able to follow the flow of songs and music, and to dance to the time (thalam), with splendid costumes, and of a happy disposition.[citation needed]As Natya Shastra states, narthaki (female dancers), are required to be "Women who have beautiful limbs, are conversant with the sixty-four arts and crafts (Kalā), are clever, courteous in behaviour, free from female diseases, always bold, free from indolence, inured to hard work, capable of practising various arts and crafts, skilled in dancing and songs, who excel by their beauty, youthfulness, brilliance and other qualities all other women standing by.

Typically a performance includes:

Alaripu

A presentation of the Tala punctuated by simple syllables spoken by the dancer. This really is sort of an invocation to the gods to bless the performance. Alaripu is performed in different jatis. Tishra, Mishra, Chatushra, Sankirna are the different types of jatis.

Kautuvam

Ancient temple dance item performed in the beginning of the recital, containing rhythmic syllables sung for jathis.

Ganapati Vandana

A traditional opening prayer to the Hindu god Ganesh, who removes obstacles.

Today mangalama

starting dance in which we show respect towards the god

Jatiswaram

An abstract dance where the drums set the beat. Here the dancer displays her versatility in elaborate footwork and graceful movements of the body. Here the Dancer displays the Korvai in a rythmic form .

Shabdam

The dancing is accompanied by a poem or song with a devotional or amorous theme. Shabdam is usually depicting graceful movements in a story or a poem

Varnam

The center piece of the performance. It is the longest section of the dance punctuated with the most complex and difficult movements. Positions of the hands and body tell a story, usually of love and the longing for the lover

Padam

Probably the most lyrical section where the dancer "speaks" of some aspect of love: devotion to the Supreme Being; or of love of mother for child; or the love of lovers separated and reunited.

Stuti

Hymn in praise of a deity that may contain a feigned mockery, etc.

Koothu

Item containing a lot of dramatic elements.

Javali

Javalis are relatively new, pure abhinaya types of compositions of light and pleasing nature. Like Padams the underlying theme of Javalis is Sringara Rasa depicting the Nayaka-Nayaki bhava.

Tillana

The final section is a pure dance (nritta) when the virtuosity of the music is reflected in the complex footwork and captivating poses of the dancer.

Apart from these items, there are items such as Shlokam, Swarajathi, Krithi etc. The performance concludes with the chanting of a few religious verses as a form ofbenediction. Certain styles include more advanced items, such as Tharanga Nritham and Suddha Nritham. When a dancer has mastered all the elements of dance, as a coming out performance, he or she generally performs an Arangetram (debut).

Angikam

This is a devotional song on Lord Shiva and an item dance in Bharata Natyam. It can also be performed in byapti slow motion. The words for the shloka are " Angikam Bhuvanam Yasya, Vachikam Sarva Vangmayam, Aaharyam Chandra Taradhi, Tvam Numah Satvikam Shivam"