Kathakali:The Dancer
Acrylic colours on 40x40 cm canvas
Acrylic colours on 40x40 cm canvas
Kathakali is one of the major forms of classical Indian dance. It is a
"story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately
colorful make-up, costumes and face masks that the traditionally male
actor-dancers wear. A Kathakali performance, like all classical dance
arts of India, synthesizes music, vocal performers, choreography and
hand and facial gestures together to express ideas. However, Kathakali
differs in that it also incorporates movements from ancient Indian
martial arts and athletic traditions of South India. It takes hours to
get dressed and the face masks are very heavy. With them on, dancing for
hours together requires a lot of strength and skill and devotion
towards the art. The traditional themes of the Kathakali are folk
mythologies, religious legends and spiritual ideas from the Hindu epics.
In modern compositions, Indian Kathakali troupes have included women
artists, as well as adapted Western stories and plays such as those by
Shakespeare and from Christianity.
Sometimes I wonder, what emotions run behind that face mask and how does a dancer depict so much with just the eyes..
Sometimes I wonder, what emotions run behind that face mask and how does a dancer depict so much with just the eyes..
