Natta Adavu – First Step
“Natta” means to stretch and so the Adavu involves some stretching compared to the Tatta Adavu we explored earlier. And compared to Tatta Adavu, the Natta adavu involves heel contacts of the feet. Thus word “Nattu” in Tamil is also referred to “Perching of heels”. So get ready for some stretching and synchronization of hands and legs! 
The bols (sollukattu) for this Adavu is “tai yum tat ta tai hi ya ha”. You would see that the basic leg postures used in this Adavu is Ardhamandal and Alidha. Ardhamandal was used in Tatta Adavu and we will see the Alidha in the explanation for this Adavu below.
Here we go with the first step for Natta Adavu:
1. Keep both your hands stretched out in Tripataka mudra facing the floor and be seated in Ardhamandal position.
2. Stretch your right leg in Alidha position (See Below). The right leg is stretched in such manner that only the heel is resting on the floor and the toes are facing upwards.
Simultaneously turn the right arm in Tripataka mudra to face up – say “tai yum”. Note that the left arm remains in Tripataka mudra facing down.
3. Bring your right leg back to Ardhamandal position with a tap and turn the right arm in Tripataka mudra downwards as in 1 above (say “tat ta”).
4. Now, repeat the steps above on the left side. Stretch your left leg in Alidha position (left leg stretched in such manner that the heel rests on the floor) and turn the left arm upwards so that Tripataka gesture face the ceiling (say “tai hi”).
5. Bring your left leg back to Ardhamandal position with a tap and left arm in Tripataka mudra downwards as in 1 above (say “ya ha”).
This completes a full set of “tai yum tat ta tai hi ya ha” and hence makes one count for the first Natta Adavu step.
Thanks for reading and I shall post the second step for Natta Adavu soon.
Related posts:
- Natta Adavu – Second Step
- Natta Adavu – Third Step
- Natta Adavu – Fifth Step
- Natta Adavu – Twelfth Step
- Natta Adavu- Tenth Step
Tags: Adavu · Bharatanatyam · Bharatnatyam · class · Classes · Dance · Learning · lessons · Naat · Natta · online · Steps
27 responses so far ↓
Good Blog All the best
Your blog link has been placed in my Indian bloggers list http://lifestyle-india.blogspot.com/.
Check it in Dancers category
http://lifestyle-india.blogspot.com/2007/09/list-of-indian-bloggers-with-different.html
Thank you
Mohan
Keep going! Your blog is very useful.
Hi Anjali,
Thankyou so much for the lessons.
I live in toronto and follow your lessons regularly.
Can u pls. post other steps of the Natta Adavus.
Thanks,
Rianna
Thanks Rianna. Glad to Know that this site is helping you. Yes I will post the other steps soon followed by a Video ….. so Stay tuned.
dear anjali,
My daughter sneha is studying classical dance.Barely 3 classes are over and she has been taught Nattadavu-8.She is not able to pick up.
I have no bharatnatyam background.what is crossing the legs in this step.
please help.
Hi Anu, Donot worry ….Its been just 3 classes….she will pick it up with practice. I have recently posted Natta Adavu- third step. (http://onlinebharatanatyam.com/2007/10/02/natta-adavu-third-step/)
This has a photo on crossed legs. check it out. In the eight step the right leg is taken behind left like the photo. Thereafter the left leg is moved to the side and tapped. If you still have any doubts do let me know. I shall mail you directly with the explanation.
dear anjali,
thanks for ur response.i could not find the natta-adavu third step.would it be possible for you to show a video-play of nattadavu-8 as u have done for ayyattam.
i would be very grateful to you.
Hi anu, yes i am in the process of editing videos for Tatta Adavu which will be posted by this weekend. Natta Adavu video will be done next week. Try clicking on the link below. This is the third step.
http://onlinebharatanatyam.com/2007/10/02/natta-adavu-third-step
Hi Anjali.
Great job. Would appreciate should you show Natta Adavu in the video. Video presentation is very helpful espicially after watching your brilliant video performance for Tatta Adavu. It is of a great help for the begginers.
Best wishes today & always.
Thanks.
Thanks a lot Meghana for your good wishes. The Natta Adavu Video is in process … so stay tuned.. …..and keep writing
Hi,
I just watched your videos, Must say the effort is commendable. However, I have a few doubts, will be obliged if u can clarify the same:
1. thattu adavu has 8 steps. U have mentioned only 6 here.
2. Which pani are u following bcos the thattu adavus are different. We have learnt 4th thattu adavu as tahiya thaiya thaiya thai all on same leg. Similarly upto the 6th step, only 7th step uses both legs, but your 6th step has 7 counts. Am confused! Please clarify
Thanks a lot Radhini for your kind words. Regarding the differences of steps ….Yes i have answered this question to some at the Tatta Adavu sixth step post. I guess we must forget about the differences and concentrate on the purpose of every Adavu. I also appreciate your concern for Anu.
hi anjali,
u know my daughter’s name is also anjali, she is 6 years old, she is also learning bharatnatyam. u r doing a great job for people like us who do not know anything about dance. Now even I feel like learning dance. Great job. keep it up. Because, so many may be doing this bhartnatyam, but u r giving more awarness to the people. Thanks. all the best
Thanks you Anuradha. I am glad to know this is helping you and Anjali. My good wishes are with you and your daughter.
i just started learning bharatanatyam . and how do u do the namaskara to the guru, bhoomi ans to nataraja. wat are the basic counts .
Hi anjali, my name is sruthi and i just started and i don’t think i am doing it correctly, i seem to not be able to keep my feet togehter when i’m doing araimandi and not look like a duck, i always pretend i know what i’m doing but i know i don’t, any suggestions?
@sruthi, being a beginner it will take some time for you to get comfortable with araimandi. You may want to straighten your feet as much as you can and out turn your knees. Araimandi is all about how much you knees can open up.
I like your web site . I want information Mudra and our health.
how it is useful in our day to day life.
thank you madam with your help now i am learning bharatanatyam in online though your site i am so thank ful to you thanks
Hai Anjali, I really appreciate your efforts!! I m a married woman and i m in my thirties…. I learned Bharatnatyam when i was young. Due to family reasons i couldn’t stick to one guru…..i went to more gurus and each time i had to start from the beginning as their styles were different. I was unable to learn beyond “Alaripu”. And now that i m married, my dream and my passion (dance) had become a dream that wil never come true. But still i m craving inside to complete my dance…i want to learn again. Is it possible? I m little bit fat ! so I want to know that a woman in her thirties can learn dance once again? i don’t know! but after seeing your site i was very happy! i m glad that u have given an opportunity for people like me to fulfill their childhood dreams! god bless u!
hey,
This is so simplified and made easy to learn. I paid a whopping amount to a home tutor and still have to follow up with him for every class. I have posted an enquiry to you, just waiting for your reply. I would be glad to learn from you. As I indicated earlier , my intention is to be able to teach kids within 1 year.
Hi Anjali,
Also, kindly let me know about the certifications. I would like to pursue them as part of my learning. Though my learning will never end, I would like to get the certificate to be eligible to teach kids of my school (its a school for destitutes).
Awaiting your reply..
Hi,
I have a doubt in Natta Adavu.. after the alida position,the leg returns to ardhamandala position as per my understanding. Do different teachers have different takes on this? say some of them say after alida position, you should come back to standing position, is this also right? I’m confused with this, since my instructor asked me to get back to standing position after alida , this is kind of difficult–ardhamandala & standing alternatively. Whatever little I learnt in my childhood, always insisted on ardhamandala till the dance was over. Kindly suggest..
@shilpa, After Alidha, it is back to Aramandi and Tap. Coming back to standing position instead, is not how I learnt.
@Shilpa, Gaining a certificate does not permit you to teach. Unless you have had an initial training for few yrs and have gained fair amount of Anga shuddi, You might not be able to give justice. As far as sharing your interests as a part of voluntary service that you are doing is fine. You donot have to aim for certifications then. Just keep learning and the joy you derive out of that service should be enough to keep you motivated.
very good my teacher says it like this ” thiem thath a thuem tham ” for nattu adava
Hi Anjali,
Thousands and thousands of thanks to you for this wonderful lessons. I am a house wife. Live in Chennai. From my childhood i am very crazy about dance particularly Bharathanatyam. But i dint get any situation to learn it properly. During my 5th grade I joined bharathanatyam and learnt it for just a year then i was forced to discontinue due to my dad’s transfer
Then again a year before i joined but again due to my marriage i discontinued it with in 5 months 
But now i am soooo glad to see your wonderful website and making a great use of it. Hearty congrats.
God bless. Thank you
Pls continue this till the end