Indian dancing

THE LANGUAGE OF GESTURES

(b) Pratyanga, or intermediate parts, such as the neck, shoulders, back, stomach, elbows, thighs, knees, and ankles.

(c) Upanga, ot minor portions, such as the lips, the mouth, the teeth, the tongue, the nose, the cheeks, and the eyes.

The movements of these various parts ate correlated so that when the anga move, the pratyanga and upanga follow suit.

Angik abhinaya is the technique most frequently employed in the dance passages of yrtya, either in its natural or theatrical (artificial) movements.

There are three subdivisions of the angik abhinaya:

1. Ankur movements that include the rechaka (movements) of the head, the dristi, or glances of the eyes, the movement of the eyebrows and the eyelids, the addiyam of the neck, the rechaka of the cheeks, the chin, the lips, the face, or movements of any of the intermediary parts of the body such as the shoulders, the waist, ot the stomach. Positions of the feet ate also included here.

2. Nrtta, or standardized movements and poses as, for instance, the various postures for deities to suggest meditation or spiritual calm. There are the brahbmari, ot spiral movements, the wfpl/avana, or leaping movements, and the chari and gat, or gait movements.

3. Shakha, or hand movements.

Hasta mudra, ot gestures of the hands, play a very important part in Indian dancing. They symbolize either an emotion, a mood, or some object or animal or person. The two most important varieties are:

(a) Asamyukta, or single-hand gestures.

(b) Samyukta, or double-hand gestures.

Life is imparted to the hasta mudra by what are termed the hasta prana, literally meaning ‘the breath of life’. Prana are of several kinds:

Prerita: Fingers turned backwards.

Prasarana, ot Prasarita: Palm outspread, fingers relaxed or separated. Kuncita: Fingers carved inward.

Recita: Hand rotating on the forearm.

Punkhita: Hands trembling.

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