The Natyashastra — The Source
All of Indian classical dance flows from the Natyashastra, an encyclopaedic Sanskrit treatise on drama, music, and dance attributed to the sage Bharata Muni and composed roughly two thousand years ago. It codifies everything from stagecraft and makeup to the precise grammar of gesture and emotion. Bharatanatyam is, in many ways, the most faithful living embodiment of the Natyashastra's principles — which is one reason it is considered the most 'classical' of the Indian forms.
Nritta — Pure Dance
Nritta is abstract, rhythmic movement with no narrative meaning — beauty for its own sake. It is built from Adavus (basic step-units) performed in time with the rhythmic syllables (sollukattu) recited by the Nattuvanar. The geometric precision of Bharatanatyam — the straight lines, the symmetrical arms, the crisp footwork striking the floor — is at its purest in Nritta passages like the Jatiswaram and the Tillana.
Nritya — Expressive Dance
Nritya combines movement with Abhinaya (expression) to convey meaning. Here the dancer becomes a storyteller, using hand gestures (mudras), facial expression, and eye movement to interpret the words and emotion of a song. A single line of poetry might be danced several different ways, each revealing a new shade of meaning — this art of elaboration is called Sanchari Bhava.
Natya — Dramatic Dance
Natya is the dramatic, theatrical aspect — full enactment of a story, often with the dancer playing multiple characters in turn. In a solo Bharatanatyam recital this appears most vividly in the Varnam and Padam, where the dancer may shift between portraying a longing heroine (nayika), her confidante, and the divine beloved, all within a few moments.
Rasa — The Goal of It All
The ultimate aim of all three strands is Rasa — the aesthetic 'flavour' or emotional experience evoked in the audience. The Natyashastra describes the Navarasa, nine fundamental emotional states: Shringara (love), Hasya (laughter), Karuna (compassion), Raudra (anger), Veera (heroism), Bhayanaka (fear), Bibhatsa (disgust), Adbhuta (wonder), and Shanta (peace). The dancer cultivates Bhava (emotional states) so that Rasa arises in the viewer — turning technique into transcendence.