A North Indian Classical Dance Form: Lucknow Kathak

Journal for the Anthropological Study of Human Movement, Spring 2003 by Lalli, Gina

A Lucknow Kathak Dance Suite

It is important to remember that danced items are divided into two types: abstract, "pure" dance figures (nritta) and the story-telling dance figures (bhavnritya).5 The dancer is free to arrange these items in any order, however, the performance will usually begin with items in a slow tempo, gradually increasing in speed as the evening progresses. The following is a substantial, but by no means exhaustive, description of a typical performance:

Vandana or Slokam

A prayer in Sanskrit addressing a god or goddess, sung slowly with no time measure, sometimes followed by a rhythmic section adding the drums, danced with slow lyrical movements. A salutation to the goddess Saraswati (Saraswati Vandana) might be sung thus: "With face like the full moon, with long, flowing hair, wearing white robes, seated on a lotus flower, playing the vina, all worship thee, O Saraswati, for with your music and learning, you remove all sorrows from the world."

Chanchal

The drummer plays a slow measure-usually the trital (16 beat) measure, and the dancer stands with hands folded, echoing the beats of the drum with his or her feet. As the measures continue, the dancer begins to add flourishes and variations of footwork (tatkar), embroidering on the beats of the drum. This is done in a relaxed, playful manner-a kind of 'sauntering along' to the beat of the drum.

That

The dancer stands erect with body slightly turned from the audience, one foot crossed behind the other, hands folded at the chest and the head turned squarely toward the audience. The eyes look straight ahead at their own level, with eyelids partly closed. The eyes seem to gaze penetratingly at the audience, but are actually gazing through them toward a far distant point. At the same time the dancer seems inwardly to 'dream'. The first pose of That (pronounced 'tut') is meant to emanate authority, strength and composure. The dancer's face is calm and at the same time, imminent change and temperament is suggested by the inscrutable expression of the eyes.

With the first sharp rapping of the tabla baya and the sonorous strains of the sarangi, the dancer stands in a pose. That is always done in a very slow time-measure. During the measure there are slight movements of hands, neck and eyes. Just before the end of the measure, in a flurry of arm moves, footwork and show of temperament, the dancer beats a syncopated phrase and comes to rest in a different pose-one arm extended overhead, the other stretched to the side or forward, always stopping with a glance toward the audience on the first beat of the next measure. This continues for several slow measures, while the drummer tries to match rhythms or suggest a new rhythm for the dancer to follow. The arrival in a new pose on the first beat of the next measure is always the climactic moment and it is performed with a maximum of subtlety and finesse. A beginning dancer may memorize an entire That piece, but an experienced, seasoned dancer often improvises the whole section.