Namskaram !
My name is Anjali Nandan and ‘am currently in Plano,TX, USA. I have been learning Bharatanatyam from the age of 6. The learning has mostly been in Mumbai from late Smt. Madhuri Kelkar. I am a “Nritya Visharad” in Bharatnatyam from Bharatiya Sangeet Samiti.
I have got the good fortune to work along with Padmashri Smt. Hemamalini as part of various dance Ballets. It was a Divine experience working in her productions like “Mahalakshmi”, “Savitri” and “Geet-Govind”. She is a graceful and disciplined exponent of Bharatanatyam.
Apart from online lessons her school Natyam Academy in Plano, TX offers Bharatanatyam lessons to interested students in Dallas/Plano/ Frisco communities.
I am not any expert in the field having seen many greats in this art form. This Blog is a humble attempt to provide some information on the dance form as I have learnt it.
Thanks for your help and encouragement along the way!
Note (Updated Sep 21, 2009): Thanks for all the comments, suggestions and encouragement. I truly appreciate each of that. To enable a better format for our discussion, I have added forums to the website. Request you to discuss your questions and ideas there.
willit be a problem to a child if it learns bharathanatyam at the age of 6
@sudha, no not at all. Its the right age
HI ANJALI I AM FROM KERELA MARRIED BRITISH SO NOW I AM IN UK (BRIGHTON) I WAS LEANING SOME BARATANATYAM BY LOOKING YOUR VIDEO I WOULD LIKE LEAN MORE BY ON LINE I DID LEAN THIS DANCE FOR THREE YEARS WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG IT WAS BEFORE 15 YEARS AGO NOW I AM 30 I WOULD LIKE TO NOW ABOUT THE FEE AND ALL AND I AM NOT STAING HERE ALL YEAR AS WELL I REALY THING WHAT YOUR DOING IS VERY HELPFUL FOR MANY PEOLE LIKE ME
THANK YOU
Namskar!!!!!
Our heart felt thanks to u for providing such a wonderful info about Bharatanayam, my daughter is 7yrs old and she is learning Bharatanayam, the info provided is helping her to learn & understand better.
Thank U very much and keep rythem going.
Bala, Bangalore
Hi Anjali,
I am currently learning Bharatanatyam from Shobana in Chennai. But I will be moving to Bangalore in a month. I would love to continue under another great Guru. Do you know of anyone in Bangalore? I would appreciate your help since I am not able to find much info on the internet.
Hope to hear from you. Thanks in advance.
Regards
Deepa
Hi Anjali,
Thanks a loads for the information provided, this would be a great attempt to popularize the great classical form of dance i have a great passion for dance but due to personal issues, education and family concerns couldnt achieve anything in the same
now as i hv completed with my studies am planning to join for the classes and would you suggest me the gurus i can get connected with in bangalore and
it would be great help if u let me how long it takes for the one to do arangetam in bharatnatyam
to mention am now 23yrs and wil this start be too late for me
awating for your response
thanks
shruthi
Bonjour Anjali,
My daughter started learning and it’s really super and helpful for the beginnors.
Do you have all the video from the first Steps available in a DVD for sales ?
Thanks,
Pragash
were we can learn maha ganapathim
hai iam 11 years old i like to be a bharatanatyam dancer from 5th class one dyi search about bharatanatyam so i liked it so much first i saw natta advu so i jumped and liked so much your type to make us perfect are very nice now in my exams holidays iam learning so iam seeing on net and learning iam confuing on second variation of natta advu so send me a video of it ok buy
i wud love to talk with u anjali
i have been learning bharatnatym with my daughter and have developed great interest in it. i really need some tips and some advice
how do i talk with u?
I am DR who has passion for dancing.
Thank u so much and God bless u
Laju
Respected Madam,
My name is Deepa and bolongs to Tamilnadu.But we r in jaipur now. I Want to teach Bharatanatyam to my daughter. Actually i learned in my childhood for three years known Mudras, and Adavu only and don t know the name for that but now after seeing your website.
Really i learn a lot.surely it is very useful and understandable to me .I am happy now.I want to be touch with you.
And surely i will ask the doubts also .
Thankingyou
With regards
Deepa.
@pragash, currently I have all the steps online. Will put up a DVD for sale soon.
@Anu, which song are you talking about.
@Kajal, let me know where you have trouble, I have the video online already.
@Deepa, Thank you.
@Laju, you can mail me at anjaliATonlinebharatanatyamDOTcom. Thanks.
i need shloka of asamyuta hastas which starts like this patakastripatako ardha pataka kartari mukhaha…i dont the complete shloka of this please help me out with this…
take care..
@Shweta, I have now uploaded the shloka in audio format..check that might help
Hi
I love dance very much but I didn’t get a good teacher and enough time the information you have given have help me a lot my mother like to anrakatham but i should do it next year otherwise i won’t have enough time i am not going any classes can i do with the information you have given and learn it within 1 year
reply me soon
vethika
@vethika, no you cannot just by this website. Probably you need to have personal session with a teacher. Consider joining a regular class may it be online or traditional.
i jst lv it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i lov to dance,,, bt i cnt,, i lv to stdy diffrnt culturs especially indian,,, i wnt visit u,
Hi Anjali,
Thanks a loads for the information provided, this would be a great attempt to popularize the great classical form of dance i have a great passion for dance but due to personal issues, education and family concerns couldnt achieve anything in the same
now as i hv completed with my studies am planning to join for the classes and would you suggest me the gurus i can get connected with in bangalore and
it would be great help if u let me how long it takes for the one to do arangetam in bharatnatyam
to mention am now 23yrs and wil this start be too late for me
awating for your response
thanks
shruthi
thank you for your reply
i will try my best to go to a class
what can i do to learn bharatanatyam more fast?
reply me soon
Hi,
Can you please advise when/where the next Bharat naytam dance is going to be held in Mumbai between 8th Nov 2010 to 14th Nov 2010?. I have tried NCPA, Nehru Centre, Shanmukananda Hall and Chavan Centre but no luck.
Thank you.
Regards,
S Badshah
Hi Anjali,
I happened to stumble upon this website and was highly impressed by it…… you have really done a great job and i loved your videos as well…..you are an awesome dancer with lots of grace n perfection….I have learnt Bharatnatyam as well for over 8 years and guess what!!! i too am a student of Madhuri tai…. :0) ….No wonder your dance felt so familiar!!!
cheers,
Meenal
@vethika, try and take more frequent classes, preferably daily, if you intend to do it within one and half year.
@badshah, I shall soon make a post of programs that you might want to visit.
@Meenal, Happy to know you are Madhuri tai’s student. Thank you for the compliments. I am sure, we as madhuri tai’s students would always be thankful to her. I have met couple of readers here who too are her students. Thanks once again.
my daughter is aged 5 years and is learning this dance form by local teacher-my problem is she is being trained in group and her teacher tells that she should practice at home.-the problem is that neither i nor my wife knows any dance form-how to help her practice-are there any training materials available
thank you for your reply
can you suggest me dance classes online
please
@pankaj, The best could be if you can record during the class. You can talk to the teacher and decide mutually. Reference materials by Shrekala bharat and priydarshini govind are available in online shops like Kalakendra.
Hi Anjali . It was wonderful info about the Bharat Natyam — it has helped me in my profession of script writing . I do anchoring of a lot of Arangetram shows for which I write the script myself. Thanks.
Hi Anjali !
Recently found this extremely helpful site for online Bharatanatyam.Really nice to have you with us.Professionally I am an engineer.Bharatanatyam is my passion.Recently I have joined class to learn this beautiful classical dance.Can you please give me some information about the syllabus as per the annual exams are concerned ?How many years does it take to complete honours in Bharatanatyam?
Thank you& regards,
Poulomi
which age is best for starting bharatanatyam
@teresa, age 6 and above is considered.
hello mam. you have explained the beauty of dance and its inner crux clearly. hats off mam:) i wish you all success and wish you to continue this mam:)
bhavana…
Hi Anjali,
I am Bhargavi of age 28yrs. I am very much interested in learning Bharatanatyam. Right now i am in Frankfurt , Germany. Could you please suggest me some institute in Frankfurt or any website through which i can learn . I have no experience in dance but i admire a lot to learn. I used to dance in School days nothing more.Could you please help me in this.
Thanks,
Bhargavi
@Bhargavi, have mailed you with details. Thanks
Thanks a lot Anjali for your quick response…… 🙂
definitely i will check out with the places around ….!!
This is really a helping hand from u….. 🙂
Hi Anjali,
I have been reading your website for some time now. Very impressive !! Do you know any good bharat natyam teachers in north east region. NJ/NY area.
Thanks,
Jaya
it takes 10 years to complete bharatanatyam ,
then if anyone starts in 6 they will finish it in 16, so late
i want samyunktahasta bheda do u hav ny audio or vedio of this?
I think you initiative to show the basic steps for new learners in Bharatha natyam is commendable. i think you are a marvel and I will recommend your website to anyone interested in this dance.
Hi Anjali,
i really liked your webpage, dance is my passion and classical dance is been my dream from childhood. I did bharatnatyam in school for two years but after that i could not get oppurtunity to learn. Its so great to learn here the basics. They are really very helpful. Now i have started learning the basics. Thank u so much.
Diksha
since school days had interest in dance.but i could not able to do anything. Now I am in 35 yr. ican able to start now. or age is the limitation to study this dance forms. now my daughter has full of spirit and entusiasm in this Bharatnatyam and she is learning too
Hi Anjali…
Nice to see you share your knowledege on Bharathnatyam.
i appreciate it.
I had learnt this dance form for 7 years from a kalamandalam trained teacher in kerala and wanted to follow my career in it, but drifted away and its been almost 13 years since i performed this dance. I live in pune (pashan) and have been in search of a good acclaimed bharathnatyam trainer around pashan , with whom i would get opportunities of stage performances. If you can share any of your contacts in this area, i would highly be grateful to you.
Wishing you all the best in the coming year.
Thanks.
@Deepthi, Thanks and good wishes to your family too. I am aware of dancers like Sucheta chaphekar, Shashikala Ravi, and Parimal phadke who are well known dancers. You can approach them.
I love the way you teach bharatnatyam(:
I have been watching your videos on youtube for a long time now, and I thought it would be great if you could post up a video on gale bujhanga? I’m not sure how to spell it, but here is a video of shobana dancing to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tlykh19lTOo
I don’t want an instructional video, but just a clear version of you doing this dance. Thankyou!
Dear Anjali,
Excellent web site and I have no words to appreciate the effort you have put into explaining the significance of each aspect of Bharata Natyam in detail. Your website is so rich in information that it’s not only useful for new learners, but also for teachers.
To briefly introduce myself, I have learnt Bharata Natyam for abt 15 years from guru Savithri Jagannatha Rao, Chennai based on Kalakshetra style and currently teaching Bharata Natyam in United Kingdon. My dance school ‘Kalalaya Bharata Natyam School’ is located in a place called Ashford(Surrey) in United Kingdom. I notice that many people check with you for dance teachers, please can you refer me to people in the United Kingdom?
Thanks
Arthi
Hi Anjali,
Do you recommend any CD’s for beginners. what’s the rate of cd. How can I get from u the cd’s. pls send me the details. i am eagerly waiting for ur reply
With Regards,
Bindhu
dear anjali maam,
i have learnt till alarippu.
thanks for your beautiful explanation.
what should i do next?
please do reply to my email
thankyou
Hi Anjali,
This is a wonderful blog started by you. I really appreciate the thought behind this initiative.
I am 40 yrs old and have always loved bharatnatyam though I never had the opportunity to learn. Can you suggest a guru/teacher who can guide me (face to face). I stay at Andheri, Mumbai.
Thanks and All the very best.
Hello!
I want to thankyou for how much you have helped me whilst learning Bharatanatym. In the coming April, I will be taking my Grade 3 exam, and I will have to perform the Kuraippu (set to Rupaka talam) . Is there any chance that you could do a video on it? It would help me out alot and Im sure that other may benefit from it too!
Please could you get back to me!<3
I am very happy to find people who love to teach this beautiful dance. I’m from Argentina and I teach there. Your site is always very good reference material! Thank you very much for sharing this site!!!
Laura