Indian Culture In Malaysia: Dance

Indian classical were brought to Malaysia by immigrants from the sub-continent in the early 20th century. Folk dances, associated with religious ceremonies, temple festivals and marriages, came with the indentured labourers who worked in rubber estates under British rule around the 1930s. Classical dance forms, in particular Bharata Natyam and Odissi, were introduced in the mid-1950s and early 1980s, respectively, by Indian dancers.

Below are the list of Indian’s dance and its origin.

Dance form	State(s) of origin
Bharatanatyam	Tamil Nadu
Kathak	Uttar Pradesh
Kathakali	Kerala
Kuchipudi	Andhra Pradesh
Manipuri	Manipur
Mohiniyattam	Kerala
Odissi	Orissa
Sattriya	Assam

In Indian Culture, dance is a form of worship and an expression of the human emotion.

Initially dance was very much an integral part of the worship and prayer in temples and practiced by devotees who spent their entire lives in the temple – the devadasees.

This has now changed with the times and dance has moved out to the people and the tradition of Indian Dance is very much alive in Malaysia. Among the more popular forms are the Odissi and Bharathanatyam.

Odissi Dance

One of the eight classical dance forms of India. There are a number of characteristics of the Odissi dance. The style may be seen as a conglomeration of aesthetic and technical details.

One of the most characteristic features of Odissi dance is the Tribhangi. The concept of Tribhangi is divides the body into three parts, head, bust, and torso. Any posture which deals with these three elements is called tribhangi. This concept has created the very characteristic poses which are more contorted than found in other classical Indian dances.

There are a number of musical instruments used to accompany the Odissi dance. One of the most important is the pakhawaj, also known as the madal. Other instruments which are commonly used are the bansuri (bamboo flute), the manjira (metal cymbals), the sitar and the tanpura.

Bharathanatyam

'Bha' - Bhavam (means expression), 'Ra' - Ragam (means music), 'Ta - Talam (means beat or rhythm) and Natyam (means dance) in Tamil.

Bharatanatyam has many dimensions. They include body movements, facial expressions, hand gestures, footwork, costumes, music, repertoire, and themes of performances. Because Bharatanatyam is so well developed, all of these aspects of the art have been codified, and are documented in ancient scriptures as well as recent books.

Bharatanatyam arangetrams or other programmes always end with Mangalams where the Bharata natyam artists again thank god, guru and the audience for making the performance a success.

Lastly, i have some videos to show you. Enjoy.

Bharathanatyam dance