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reading 4 Kathak is one of the eight classical Indian dance forms that were performed in ancient northern India. According to the excerpt of Rhythmic Echoes and Reflections of Kathak by Shovana Narayan, Kathak was originally used for storytelling in ancient Indian times and told stories of Indian mythology. This form of dance was implied to have been performed by those who had professional characteristics, and it was said that this class of men who performed Kathak were associated with"oral mediations in the sacred traditions". So I can only assume that those who performed this dance were highly spiritualistic and had an unwavering faith in Hinduism. There were also references to the Abbidan Rajendra, which was the Jain lexicon, meaning the music composition was told in a vivid manner and lead to various Jain munis. What I found most interesting from this excerpt, was when the author wrote about the close interaction of religion according to life in Vedic India. From this part of the excerpt the author came to several conclusions, one of which was "Amoungst the porfessional groups, there were the exalted courtesan dancers and the temple dancers (the demarcation between the two was often blurred) as well as groups of male dancing priest" reading 5 Like most Indian dance forms, Kathakali is a storytelling dance form. the interesting thing about Kathakali, is that it is a pantomimic form of dance meaning that it is strongly based around facial expressions and gestures. From reading this passage, I found out that there are three different aspects of this dance form that makes of Kathakali, the music, the color that is painted on each dancers face, and the vocals or sound that is being played during the performance. All of these components together enhance the whole performance as a whole creating a more vivid and colorful presentation. Furthermore, another part of the article that I found interesting is the second chapter when it talks about the evolution of gestures throughout the progression of Indian civilization. From this part of the reading, it was said that gestures were eventually derived from religion showing its great influence upon dance. Also it was said that in the Middle ages, the concept of Sankhya lead to the combination of atheism and dualism with monism and theism, creating male and female forces. reading 6 Manipuri originated from the region in between the Indo-Burma border and Assam Hills region. Within the Manipuri region includes rich culture, dance, and rituals. The earliest forms of dance within this culture were considered to be very animistic and in association with worhsip to Shiva and Parvati. What I found interesting about the Manipuri people is their mythology, in particular the story of the Rasa Lila dance performed by Shiva and Parvati. The story is about how Shiva and Parvati encountered each other and how Parvati took it upon herself to glance at the Rasa performance and shortly after Shiva agreed to show Parvati at a different location which was secluded, however this spot would attract too much attention, so Shiva used his trident to drain off the entire water creating a valley; and this is where Shiva shared his Rasa with Parvati. It is said that this dance lasted seven days and nights.