…About Kathak
photos by Werner Elmker
Kathak is the classical dance of North India. It is famous for it’s fancy footwork and fast spins. Like all the major dances of India, Kathak has two main aspects: a storytelling aspect, called abinaya, and a purely rhythmic aspect, called Nritta.
“Kathak” means storyteller. Thousands of years ago a narrative form of dramatizing the myths and stories of India’s great literature evolved into an essential part of temple and village life. Professional storytellers traveled all over north India presenting their beautiful language of symbolic gestures, called mudras. Using mime and music, they told stories and even though their art was culturally specific, we find in these mudras and poses the invoking of universally understood human emotions.
The Sanskrit word for emotional aesthetics is rasa. Nine rasas are defined in the range of human emotion: love, joy, wonder, peace, anger, courage, sadness, fear and disgust. These are nuanced into subtle characteristics within each one. The refined and fluid movements of Kathak, graceful and natural, are in and of themselves in service of rasa. However they are invoked more consciously in the storytelling side of the dance which includes a tradition of dancing to the famous poems of Binda Din Maharaj, Jayadeva, and Kabir.
During the 700-year reign of the Persian Kings, Kathak blossomed as a virtuoso dance, reflecting a cultural renaissance that took place during that time and within the world of the royal courts. In a highly artistic atmosphere, which saw kings who were themselves dancers/poets and musicians, many new embellishments found their way into the dance that became Kathak. Formal techniques and formats became codified. Three main features characterize this technical aspect of the dance: An incredibly fluid language of movement, mesmerizing footwork; and the recitation of syllables called “bols”, which is an art in itself.
Primarily danced to a 16-beat measure, Kathak footwork (tatkar) emphasizes rhythmic cycles, which culminate in the “sam” (pronounced “sum”). The sam is the last beat of one rhythmic cycle and the first beat of the next cycle.
Dances are often recited before they are danced, especially when the music is live. The movements, footwork and the recited syllables (bols) of each dance correspond directly to the beats of the tabla or pacawaj—the percussion. Delightful sounds like Takita Takita Dina Dina are much more interesting and intricate than counting 1 2 3 4. Immensely charming, the tabla players who accompany Kathak dance are also highly adept at this recitation, which forms the basis of their musical knowledge as well as the basis of Kathak dances.
Indian and Persian music and culture have blended together in this exquisite and expressive dance-art, which is said to be the origin of Flamenco and the first dances of the Spanish Gypsies who migrated from India. Kathak has also inspired Celtic traditions and even modern and jazz dance styles. Kathak is also one of the classical traditions that became the basis for "bollywood" dance, the huge and magnificent music and dance numbers that are featured in the Hindi films known today as bollywood films.