The Dancing Duo: Dhananjayans | Famous Dancers

I first heard of "THE legendary Dhanajayans" from my Guru Smt. Sripriya Sridhar. She has had the good fortune of learning from both of them for many many years. As a young teen who's never spent a day outside of Mumbai, I didn't exactly know the importance of this dancing duo in the world of Bharatanatyam. But as I grew up, the curiosity to know more about these famous dancers who trained my dance teacher grew. And I invaded YouTube to watch their performances and bought some of their DVDs too. They often travel the world along with their troupe performing in various places. I met them at a program in Matunga, Mumbai. It soon became clear WHY they were famous. They're incredible. The coordination, creativity and energy with which they have been dancing all these years has earned them the respect of fellow dancers and made them into a phenomenon in Bharatanatyam. Today, more than 60 years of dancing on stage later, they're still growing strong - together.

Natanam Adinar | Song Lyrics & Meaning

One of the songs describing the Blissful Dance of Lord Siva which I love is, "Natanam Aadinaar" by Gopalakrishna Bharatiyaar. The references to the story of Agastya, Tillai (Chidambaram) and the Sollukattu swaras make this dance energizing, interesting and beautiful. It is a celebration of Shiva, the cosmic dancer, who balances creation and destruction.

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Bharatanatyam Hasta Mudra (Hand Gestures)

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One of the most striking aspects of an Indian Classical Dance is the use of hand gestures, also known as Hasta Mudra (read: Huss-tha mu-dh-raa). In order to convey the meaning of what a dancer is performing, hand gestures are a significant __ to facial expressions. However, there are also Nritta Mudras, that are employed for the sake of beauty and decorative purposes while performing Nritta. So vast is the hand gestures that it covers almost all the aspects of human life and the entire universe. There is a hand gesture for every single thing in this universe. Some are performed with a single hand while some may require the use of both hands. Hence 'Mudras' bring unique poetic element while performing Abhinaya (expressions) and thus the language of the mudras enables the dancer to express practically anything and everything.

Nataraja - the Lord of Dance (Dancing Shiva)

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Nataraja (read: Nuh-tuh-raa-jaa) is the depiction of the Hindu God Shiva as the cosmic dancer who performs his divine dance to destroy a weary universe to make way for the process of creation. In Hindu belief, Shiva as Nataraja appears at the end of one cosmic cycle and the beginning of the next, and is thus associated with both creation and destruction. In his hands he holds both the destructive fire and the double-sided drum, the sound from which summons up new creation.