Alarippu
The word Alarippu means “a flowering bud.” It is an innovatory piece meaning it is performed before a dancer begins a whole performance. It is considered to be a warm up piece for the dancers. According to T. Balasraswati “Alarippu, which is based on rhythm alone, brings out the special charm of pure dance. The movements of Alarippu relax the dancer’s mind and thereby her mind, loosen and coordinate her limbs and prepare her for the dance. Rhythm has a rare capacity to invoke concentration. Alarippu is most valuable in freeing the dancer from distraction and making her single-minded.”
Alarippu begins with Atamis or neck movements followed by Mandi advau in the second half and later culminates with vibrant foot work and teermanam adavu. In the following video I have tried to explain the first half of Alarippu step by step.
Related posts:
- Mandi Adavu in Bharatanatyam
- Visharu Adavu Second Step (Video)
- Visharu Adavu Eight Step (Video)
- Visharu Adavu in Bharatanatyam
- Visharu Adavu Fifth Step (Video)
Tags: allarippu · alrippu · bharat natya · bharata natyam · Bharatanatyam · Bharatnatyam · Dance · Gesture · Indian classical dance · Learning · lessons · online lessons


27 responses so far ↓
Hi Anjali
I m balu pursuing Ph.D in Jawaharlal Nehru University, Newdelhi. since my childhood i have a dream to learn baratnatyam but did not got chance to learn. But by your onlinebharatnatyam website my dream which i thought could not get fulfilled getting fulfilled. Thank’s for your justification to the art which u had learned.
from today onwards i watch all ur sessions and i became ur fan.
thank u.
if u r there in front of me i would have touched ur feet and said thanks.
Thank you Balu. Wish you all the best.
Hi Anjali,
I came to Bangalore from Maharashtra for job reasons and am fascinated by the dance traditions of the south. I see dance recitals and feel them eye-pleasing, but your demonstrations have helped me understand some finer details, so that i can appreciate the performances in a better way. thanks a lot.
And yes, you look pretty in that simple dance costume. kudos!
Glad to know the site has help you appreciate Natyam. Thank you Dhananjay
thank you so much for the video and i actually understood it really well. i was wondering whether you could do another video of meiya adavu if it is alright with you and i am in grade 3. i’m not forcing you to do this but just asking whether you would be able to.
Thank you Selvi, Will do that soon
hi anjali,
i’m learning the alarippu now, and we were asked to do the thalam.
can you help me how to do the thalam for the alarippu?
your website is really good and it helped me allot, thank you very much!
swathi x
@Swati, your teacher can explain it to your better, since you need to understand the mathematics behind it.
hello mam ur site is very useful… can u pls suggest gud projects for kids in bharatanatyam…..and also pls hlp me a gud universuty frm where we can do masters or phd in bharatanatyam
hi .you are excellent.can you sugest me interesting method on how to teach bharatanatyam and plz can you give me some suggestion on how to give children progets where they get more and more knowledge.and can u tel me how can i imorove my knowlege more and more
namasthe mam. I like ur performance.
Hi Anjali,
Love your videos and appreciate the work you are doing. I was wondering about the raaga of Alarippu. Can you please let me know in which raaga or thaalam (I hope I am saying it right) is this Alarippu.
Thanks.
Hi Anjali
Iam priya staying in Mumbai. i saw your alaripu video. But i understand alarippu is composed in various talams. Could you please clarify on this.
Thanking you
Priya
Hi Anjali. I have learnt this amazing dance for 10 years of my life but after marriage and moving from country to country I haven’t been performing or practicing much. I love your site and your way of spreading the knowledge. Keep up the good work.
hi, i am trying to learn bharatanatyam and this site is really really helpful, i have a 4 year old daughter who is interested so would you think that this site would be a good start for my little Chittu?
@prikanshka, Thank you. You can try teaching her, looking at the videos. If your little one really shows interest and is delighted to dance you can enroll her to a good dance school in your area.
Thanks so much!!!! She really has a knack for the dance and i think she would be an excellent student when she gets older. I will try to teach her from your videos until she is around 6 then I will enroll her into a school.
Hi Anjali,
Thanks for providing this piece. Can you tell me where I can find the bols (syllables) to Alarippu. I know you recite them in the video, but I would like the written. I tried to write them down while following you along in the video, but it is just too hard. If you know where I can find the bols to other dance steps too, that would be great too. Thanks
Hey Anjali,
I have always wondered, How you can recognize differences between Dance styles like Tanjavoor style or Mysore Style? I tried reading about them in Lasya ranjana and few other books but still unclear. Could you please share your thoughts on different dance styles? thanks
Namasteji
I am mandar from Satara Mah. now in Nigeria. I am visharad in the Bharatanatyam.But I wants to learn more. about Bharat natyam.can you help me to learn master degree in Bharatnatyam.Pl
Wow this is a great post. I just Love your videos and appreciate the work you are doingand i absolutely loved it….
Thank you for posting it and keep up !!!
Hello Anjali, I was glad to find your videos when I was looking for BharatNatyam dances online. I did my Arangetram some ten years ago, and have almost forgotten most of it. But I would like to recall and relearn, so could you suggest where I could find them online? My work leaves me little time to join classes, so I mostly practise early mornings or late nights.
hi anjali
i like your dance very much.
iam in australia
hi anjali
i am vismaya
i am a fan in india.i have learn all tpye of dance.
if you were there i will touched your feet and said thanks.
Hi Anjali,
Do you have any varnams that you could post a video or music for.
I was very glad to see your site and I brushed up my Alarippu. Thank you and good job. Keep it up.
Hi there =)
I Really love bharatnatyam but i was never able to find a place to get lessons so i took it upon myself to find way to learn natyam on the internet. I am starting with alarippu first because I feel it would be a good start. Thanks to you i have a greater understanding of how to preform alrippu but my love for classical dance still remains a secret. How exactly would one want to reveal a secret to their family who is mainly of doctors and computer engineers?