19 Facts About Kathak

Kathak is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance.

Kathak dancers tell various stories through their hand movements and extensive footwork, their body movements and flexibility but most importantly through their facial expressions.

Kathak evolved during the Bhakti movement, particularly by incorporating the childhood and stories of the Hindu god Krishna, as well as independently in the courts of north Indian kingdoms.

Kathak performances include Urdu Ghazals and commonly used instruments brought during the Mughal period.

Kathak is found in three distinct forms, called "gharanas", named after the cities where the Kathak dance tradition evolved – Jaipur, Banaras and Lucknow.

Related searches

Term Kathak is rooted in the Vedic term Katha which means "story, conversation, traditional tale".

Kathak refers to one of the major classical dance forms primarily found in northern India, with a historical influence similar to Bharatanatyam in south India, Odissi in east India and other major classical dances found in South Asia.

Kathak has inspired simplified regional variants, such as the Bhavai – a form of rural theatre focussing on the tales of Hindu goddesses, and one which emerged in the medieval era, is presently found in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

In both Hindu and Muslim courts, Kathak became highly stylized and came to be regarded as a sophisticated form of entertainment.

Over time, the Kathak repertoire added Persian and Central Asian themes, such as the whirling of Sufi dance, the costumes replaced Saris with items that bared midriff and included a transparent veil of the type common with medieval Harem dancers.

Kathak teachers shifted to training boys to preserve the tradition, as most of the 20th-century ridicule had been directed at Kathak "nautch girls".

Kathak was brought to the attention of audiences outside India in the early 20th century through Kalkaprasad Maharaj.

In Kathak, abhinaya is in the form of expressive gestures and pantomime set to music that usually outline a legend or the plot of a well known story.

The second variation of a Hindu Kathak dancer uses a long, full, light-weight skirt usually with embroidered border that helps highlight the dance motion.

Ensemble of musical instruments vary with any Kathak performer, ranging from two to twelve classical Indian instruments or more in versions with synthetic innovations.

The most common instruments that go with Kathak are tabla that syncs with the dancer's feet rhythms, sarangi or harmonium with manjira (hand cymbals) that meters the tal (cycle), and other instruments to add effect, depth and structure to the expressive stage of a Kathak performance.

Kathak is a diffuse tradition, of which three gharanas are more well known and studied – Jaipur, Benares and Lucknow.

Janakiprasad was a dancer and a Sanskrit scholar, and credited with inventing the bols of Kathak, which are mnemonic syllables within the language of this classical dance of India.

Kathak is normally performed in a standing form with legs and torso typically straight, while Bharatanatyam extensively utilizes bent knee form.