Dance Forms of Kerala

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Dance Forms of Kerala

• By Kerala Tours

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Kerala

• Kerala has been acknowledged for its rich culture
  and tradition. The art and dance forms of the
  state holds a special place for making it a
  tourist hub. Gods own country has different
  dance forms. The native dance forms were derived
  from the earlier folk dances. Each dance is
  unique in the way of presentation. Here we are
  detailing the different dance forms of Kerala.

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Kathakali

• It is one of the famous classical dance forms
  mainly performed in Kerala. It is a perfect
  combination of music, dance and drama. Kathakali
  means story play. The dance form is generally
  performed by men. The costumes of Kathakali
  includes headgear, special ornaments, swirled
  skirts etc. This dance form use hand and facial
  expressions to explain the story. The act depicts
  the epics stories of Hindu Puranas like
  Mahabharata, Ramayana etc. The vocals of
  Kathakali is in Sanskritized Malayalam form. The
  act symbolises the fight between good and evil.
• This dance form is known for its uniqueness. We
  can distinguish the characters by the makeup
  itself as it differs according to the shades of
  the character. The category includes Paccha,
  Kathi, Kari, Thaadi, Minukku etc. Paccha
  (green)is used for characters like Krishna, Rama,
  Vishnu, Shiva, Nala, Arjun, Yudhishthira etc. As
  these characters are considered as noble they are
  given the same makeup i.e their lips will be
  painted in coral red along with green face
  makeup. Some evil characters also have green
  makeup to represent their excellence but will
  have red colour in any form(like dotted line or
  dots) to denote the evil nature. Thaadi is used
  for characters with an evil streak like Ravana.
  Usually performed in the temple premises
  Kathakali is one of the major tourist attractions
  of Kerala. So if you are planning to visit Kerala
  dont miss the opportunity to experience this
  unique art form.

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Mohiniyattom

• One of the native dance form of Kerala.
  Mohiniyattom means Mohinis dance, it is solo
  women dance. Mohini is considered as Lord
  Vishnus avatar. This dance form is considered as
  a mix of Kathakali and Bharatnatyam. The art form
  is described in the Natya Shastra. Mohiniyattom
  includes Carnatic way of singing and acting
  through the play. The song is in Manipravalam, a
  Malayalam-Sanskrit hybrid. It is said that
  Mohiniyattom originated in the 6th century. The
  costume of Mohiniyattom is plain white or off
  white sari embroidered with the gold layer, it
  looks very similar to Kasavu saree. The dancer
  uses limited jewellery without any head mask. It
  is one of the eight dance forms included in the
  Sangeet Natak Akademi.

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Thirvathirakali
Ottamthullal
The dance form introduced by Kunchan Nambiar in
the 18th century. Ottamthullal is performed by a
solo dancer with green makeup and decorated
colourful costumes. The performer narrates a
story based on mythology. Kunchan Nambiar has
crafted the art in such a way it consists of
comedy element in it. It is developed in the
Malayalam language. Simple language usage and
comedy elements made Ottamthullal very popular
among the local audience. It is considered as one
of the most popular dance forms.

• Thirvathirakali is one of the popular group dance
  forms performed during the festive season. It is
  usually performed on Thiruvathira day in the
  Malayalam month Dhanu(December-January), the
  birthday of Lord Shiva. This dance is performed
  by women to attain marital bliss. The sinuous
  movement is done by a group of 8 or 10 members
  with nilavilakku in the centre. The costume
  includes Kerala traditional kasavu saree with
  simple ornaments along with fresh jasmine in the
  head makeup.

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