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Nritya (, ), also referred to as nritta, natana or natya, is "dance, act on the stage, act, gesticulate, play" in the Indian traditions.Nritya
Encyclopaedia Britannica
नृत्
Monier Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, page 515
It is sometimes subdivided into two forms: ''nritta'' or pure dance, where the expressionless movements of a dancer play out the rhythms and phrases of the music; and ''nritya'' or expressive dance, where the dancer includes facial expression and body language to portray mood and ideas with the rhythmic movements.


Overview

''Nritya'' is broadly categorized as one of three parts of
Sangita Sangita (Devanagari: , IAST: ), also spelled Samgita or Sangeeta, refers to "music and associated performance arts" in the Indian traditions. According to Guy Beck, the root "saṃ-" implies "combining, coming together, convergent wholesome ble ...
, the other two being ''gita'' (vocal music, song) and ''
vadya ''Vadya'' (, ), also called or , is one of the three components of (musical performance arts), and refers to "instrumental music" in the Indian traditions. The other two components of are (vocal music, song) and (dance, movement). In the g ...
'' (instrumental music). These ideas appear in the Vedic literature of
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
such as the ''Aitareya Brahmana'', and in early post-Vedic era Sanskrit texts such as the ''
Natya Shastra The ''Nāṭya Shāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary b ...
'', ''
Panchatantra The ''Panchatantra'' ( IAST: Pañcatantra, ISO: Pañcatantra, , "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story.
'', ''Malvikagnimitra'' and ''Kathasaritsagara''. Nritya and Nata appear in Vedic era literature. For example, Section 4.104 of the '' Unadi Sutras'' mentions Nata as "dancer, mime, actor". Panini too mentions the terms Nritya and Nartaka respectively as dance and dancer, in his treatise on Sanskrit grammar. The term Nritya appears in all major classical Indian dance forms as one form of their repertoire, inspired by the guidelines of the ''
Natya Shastra The ''Nāṭya Shāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary b ...
''. These are ''Nritta'', ''Nritya'' and ''Natya'': *The ''Nritta'' performance is an abstract, fast and rhythmic aspect of the dance. The dancer performs pure dance steps by using '' adavu''. In simple words, we can say that ''Nritta'' means pure classical dance. *The ''Nritya'' is a slower and significant aspect of the dance that attempts to communicate feelings, storyline particularly with spiritual themes in Hindu dance traditions. In a ''nritya'', the dance-acting expands to include silent expression of words through gestures and body motion set to musical notes. The actor articulates a legend or a spiritual message. This part of the repertoire is more than sensory enjoyment, and it aims to engage the emotions and mind of the viewer. *The ''Natyam'' is a play, typically a team performance,Kavitha Jayakrishnan (2011)
Dancing Architecture: the parallel evolution of Bharatanātyam and South Indian Architecture
MA Thesis, Awarded by University of Waterloo, Canada, page 25
but can be acted out by a solo performer where the dancer uses certain standardized body movements to indicate a new character in the underlying story. A ''Natyam'' incorporates the elements of a ''Nritya''.


See also

*
Indian classical dance Indian classical dance, or ''Shastriya Nritya'', is an umbrella term for different regionally-specific Indian classical dance traditions, rooted in predominantly Hindu musical theatre performance,, Quote: All of the dances considered to be part ...
*''
Natya shastra The ''Nāṭya Shāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary b ...
'' *''
Sangita Ratnakara The ''Sangita-Ratnakara'', संगीतरत्नाकर, (IAST: Saṃgītaratnākara), literally "Ocean of Music ", is one of the most important musicological texts from India. Composed by Sharngadeva, Śārṅgadeva (शार्ङ ...
''


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Bibliography

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