Gati in Theory and Practice
by Dr. Sujatha Mohan | 2015 | 88,445 words
This page relates ‘Nattupura Nadanam’ of the study on the Theory and Practice of Gati (“gait”) which refers to the “movement of a character on the stage”, commonly employed (as a Sanskrit technical term) in ancient Indian Theatrics and the Dramatic arts, also known as Natya-shastra. This thesis explores the history and evolution of Gati and also investigates how the various Gatis are employed in regional performance traditions.
Nāṭṭupura Naḍanam
[Full title: Desi forms of Tamilnadu (7): Nāṭṭupura Naḍanam]
Kummi is the most popular folk dance of Tamilnadu. In this, the dancers move around in circles clapping their hands in perfect rhythm. The chorographical patterns are done in the circle itself based on the rhythm of the song. Performers are generally girls and even in number. There are varieties such as kuratti kummi performed as solo and oyil kummi performed with graceful moves and bends.
Kolāṭṭa is performed with two sticks in hand and this has formations such as straight lines, diagonal lines, horizontal lines or circles. A variety of this is called pinnal-kolāṭṭa. The pattern of a plait is made with strings hanging down from the centre and the girls move around plaiting the strings along with formations and steps and after the whole plait is done, again the formation is reversed so that the plait is opened out.
Oyilāṭṭa is a folk dance, which has both vigorous and very graceful steps. The dancers hold handkerchiefs in their right hand and wave them gracefully along with forward and backward leg movement. They wear bells around their feet and dance according to the tempo that increases as the dance progresses.
Karaga is the dance form in which a pot is balanced on the head and the dance is mainly of forward and backward movements in a very graceful way without moving the head. Other than this, the dancers perform various acrobatic feats.
Kāvaḍi is a dance form, performed by devotees of Lord Muruga, in which a kāvaḍi is held on the shoulder and vigorous and acrobatic movements are performed. The songs sung are known as kāvaḍicindu, which has a specific meṭṭu or rhythm.
Poikkālkudirai (false horse dance) also known as puraviāṭṭa is a form where the dancer ties two short wooden stilts to the feet and performs the gait with perfect balance, standing on top of it. Sometimes they also wear a horse costume and perform the dance using horse-like movements.[1]