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.Ā To enable a better format for our discussion, I have added forums to the website. Request you to discuss your questions and ideas there.
@Aleena, Very Important to stay calm and relaxed. Practice all you Adavus and hand gestures. I am not aware of the portions in Uk. They will be looking for a good posture and smiling face for sure. Be very attentive and talk to her as a normal human being š It is ok to say I dont know. Incase you know little you can explain whatever you know. Take it easy.
Hi. I love to dance. I learned some in my childhood. I want to teach some to my six year old. Ur blog is really neat. It refreshes my memory. I love the way you present each and every steps. I really appreciate your hard work. Wish u r here in NJ. I would definitely send my daughter to a teacher like u. Keep up your good work.
NICE. I LIKE IT. KEEP IT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!11
Hi Anjali madam,
i want to learn barthanatyam,but no one is here to teach me where i am staying.but i have so much interested to learn dance.
Hi Anjali,
Namaskaram
so happy to see your website. my daughter is 6 yr old and learning bharathanatiyam. she is preparing for her grade 1 exam and your webpage gave me more information to understand different concepts to start from namaskaram, different positions and adavus. This information helped me a lot to support my daughter to do her preparation well. Thanks a lot for this support. since her first language is English it is very difficult to remember the important words/ but your webpage helped her a lot to understand perfectly and to do the steps correctly. Now she started enjoying of reading your webpage along with me. I am so grateful to you.
hi anjali
i just wanted to know if you could post a video on Goutham
i learned it but a few steps i don’t get at all:)
so maybe you can…..post a…video maybe
But anyway Thnx for reading my commnet:))
by the way i love you website
this is my first time on your site
my friend uses it before the dance exam
so maybe this will help me alot too:))
anyway so far it has lots of details your website::)
anyway can you PLEASE PLEASE try i really need goutham were having our exam in i think 2 weeks sorry though
I’m currently working TCS nw. Im learning dance frm school and till nw ive’nt taken any exams. Can i apply for senior exam without taking junior exam. I love dancing i dnt wantt discontinue. I feel somewat t take junior exam at dis age. I’m 23nw. Pls reply t dis mess. Thank u..
I have very much enjoyed your lec/demo kind of presentation.
You said you live in Schaumburg, USA. Is that in Chicago, IL?
I am a musician—but more interested in dance these days!
//Gopal//
cleveland, OH
@krishnaveni, where are you located in I can help you find one.
@Gayatri, Did you mean kauthuvam please check this link:http://onlinebharatanatyam.com/2011/03/kautukams/
Good luck with your exams!!!!
@Gopal Krisha, Thanks for the encouragement. Yes In chicago.
Hello Maam,
I was in search of this type of website for several times. My heart felt thanks for your effort. I am living in UAE and learned kadhakali in childhood. I am passionate towards bharatanatyam and planning to go for classes. do you know a better place to learn this in Dubai ? please reply.
Thanks & Regards
Swathy
Hi Anjali, I am learning bharatatanatyam in kalakshetra style. This website is very helpful to learn different variations of the same aduvus.
And please help me. Can you suggest a good song for semi-classical dance based on bharatanatyam? Please, I need your help. Better if it is on Krishna. We are a group of 8 and we are planning to show sancharis like kalinga mardhana. Please help
Can I also know about the different styles of Bharatanatyam?? I mean…their origin…differences between them-etc…And how to identify each style while watching a dance recital??
Which style did you learn and which one are you following? Can we mix different styles together?? I actually
2222JUL12
Hello from Cairo: Again
Anjali there are now ads appearing right over your
instrtuctional vidwo and block the view of the items
you are teaching.
Now 2 o 3 appear all at once and I cannot see what
you are demonstrating especially the adavus.
This si a great bother and the blam is google who
posts these ads. I hote google and trying to get
it emoved from my computer. Any ideas about
this.
Also, do you have a personal email address as
I’m not sure if you have seen the other messages
I’ve sent lately??
Thanks. If tdhese ads will continue, Iwill no longer
watvch your videos.
Hi Anjali,
Thanks, u done very good. now i wnt to ask u I M 27 years old should i learn now Bharatnataym. if yes then send me u r fee structure and imp.information.
I am eagerly waiting for your response ma’am……………….
which nattadavu is best to vanish upper belly in women?
Is the Aramandi sitting help in this regard?
Even though dancing everyday for some 30 minutes i don’t see any improvement in my belly part?
Please suggest some advice.
Thanks in advance.
Shakila
Dear Shakila, dance is great cardio exercise. It keeps your body fit and supple. What you need to do is to get into a non stop 10 min dancing sessions. Example an Allarippu followed by kautukam and Tillana. Must feel the heat and sweat !!!! But yes if you are looking into toning your belly you must concentrate on belly related yoga exercises and spend more time doing them.
hi anjali. guru is supreme but to guide rightly to the guru and sharing all that u know about bharatanatyam is also an excellent service ur doing and this shows ur dedication. excellent work. can u help me out in correcting bodyshaking while dancing and how to improve gracefulness in dance for my daughter who is dancing well and dedicated except for some few corrections like this .she is 10 years old.
Hi Anjali! My name is Daniela, I am Brazilian and I live in Sao Paulo, I’m learning this wonderful dance, but I confess: It’s a little difficult for me. My teacher is wonderful and your videos have helped me a lot. Come to Brazil and show this beautiful Brazilian dance for us! Thank you for everything.
thank you…
Hi
I really need some help and advice please.
Do you know of seamstresses who sew bharatha natyam costumes in Canada or the USA?
thank you
Shamala
Hi Anjali, thank you so much for providing such great information. It is okay if I ask you a few questions for my research project? It would be great if you could help me.
I want to learn more about the mudras used in Nalacharitham.
Thank you!
Hi Anjali,
I am so very happy to find this website. You are a wonderful dancer. Want to thank you as well as appreciate you for this great effort. The information and the videos you have provided are very helpful and the way you have taken effort in providing attention to details help beginners like me a great deal. I love all forms of classical dance especially Bharathanatyam. Though i could learn some basics in my childhood, i could not pursue my dance lessons for long. But learning different classical dance forms had always been a dream. Recently i started taking up classical dance classes ..at the age of 29 (very late indeed)…The saying “better late than never” is my inspiration :-). Your blog is gonna be my reference.
Thanks a lot for this great website.
Best of luck for a great future.
Regards .. Nidhu
Hi Anjali,
I am Rathi from Bnagalore…I started to dance Bharathanatyam at my age of 3 without any tuitions and guide ..but everybody used to said That I learnt this art frm my mom’s womb..even though my parents doesn’t know abt the bharathanatyam classes to give more training to me to go in the right way..on 80’s….now I got married & having 2 yr kid..but now I had a wonderful teacher ….THAT’S YOUU I am so happy now I started in real format to dance bharathanatyam…hearful Thanks to u Anjali…
thank you for giving a lot about this classical dance. mam, how can we improve facial expression. plez tell in detail.
thnk u ma’am.. i found ths website very knwlegeble. and ur some dance show from you tube help me 2 learn basics.. ge8 work thn u
Thank you so much for your all your online lessons. I really appreciate your time and effort for doing this. I’m now learning the basic steps :).
You are a star and may god bless you always!!
Wow! madam you are such a gracefull dancer,
I want to watch your performance as kali, may i have
the link of the video.
Hi,
This is really very helpful.Can u please suggest a bharatnatyam dance class in Pune?
Hi Anjali ,
Your website is very nice and helpfull to i was learning Bharatnatyam 4 years back and then left due to my work and college and then i got married now i have again started learning this year completed now 9 Months however i m planning for a baby in month of March just wanted to know is it safe to practice during pregnancy and for how long as i dont want to discontinue it again
@Suvarna, Usually doctors advice to continue with the regular routine may it dance or swimming. But all the while during pregnancy please listen to your body and do not over workout. Each of us are unique, what worked for me shall not work for you. In my case I wasn’t dancing at all. But I was into brisk walking routine that my doctor suggested.
@rajesh I have not postings on Kali dance. But I had shared some video that I liked. check this link
http://onlinebharatanatyam.com/2008/04/malabika-sen-dancing-on-kalika-stotram/
This is an awesome site. Thank you for creating this
Hi Anjali,
thanks for the wonderful website.I am a 27year old woman on the wrong side of weight. I had always had a passion for dance but couldn’t learn due to a various number of factors. Now I want to learn. Inspite of being overweight I had always had good amounts of flexibility and endurance for physical work cos of my athletic background during college. Would it be a problem for me if I start learning now. I had always had a deep passion for dance
I have trained in Bharatanatyam for 9 years in Delhi but couldn’t continue due to academics. I think this is a wonderful attempt to share knowledge about this wonderful dance form. It reminded me of my dancing days. Keep up the good work!
Hi Anjali,
Am a dance one i got married i dint get chance to develop my talent am still hunting for good opportunity , am ready to do programs , do you know any contacts in Delhi…? pls help me…
I am a graduate from Kalakshetra. I had done my M.A. (Dance) from School of Fine Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad. Done my M.Phil. (Folk Arts) from Telugu University. Presently doing my Ph.D. (Dance) from School of Fine Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad. Presently I am in the final year. I have chosen āBharatanatyam in Diasporaā under the scope of United Kingdom as my research topic. I visited United Kingdom twice for my research work. Presently I am drafting my rough thesis on my research topic. If you want to share or give any advice on my topic I would appreciate for the same.
hi, my daughter is now 9 years old she has passed first level Akhilbharatiya gandharva exam in Bharat natyam, I want my daughter to finish her maximum levels of exam before her standard 9. whether that is possible ?and if yes, please suggest me some well known teachers Near Thane city who can provide me this facility as I am staying at Kalwa,Thane.please guide me I need your help in this regard as my daughter love dancing.as so suggest what kind of government exam regarding this she can give which will help her in her carrier in future?
mam, i have trained for bharatnatyam under mrs.shreedharan, pune for 6 yrs. I wanted to make a career in it. But my father got tranfered to kolhapur, where i cud not find a guru in the taal i had learnt. This was in ’88. I am 38 today, but my basics r still strong. I still remember all the mudras, allaripu, jathiswarm etc. I want to get back, dancing is still very much a part of me.
Today i live in aurangabad, maharashtra and am a teacher for a primary school.
Do u think i can get it back ? Pls suggest how to begin.
Warm regards,
Preeti Iyer
hi my name is thilaksy.siva
i like your dance and i learned alarippu from your web.
i have exam on this weekend. thanks
Hi my friend! I wish to say that this post is amazing, nice written and come with almost all significant infos.
I would like to peer extra posts like this .
@Preeti, Sure you could get back. Look for a good teacher around your area and get started. I have students of your age ans they enjoy their sessions.
@Isha, ABG exams are good. Keep continuing them. You can contact Asha SunilKumar of Sanskruti dance school thane.
Hi Miss Anjali…
I’m Haresh from Malaysia. Bharatanatyam is my passion since I’m small but unfortunately i couldn’t learn it because of my parents who against a guy learning baratham.. Its quite sad for me for that time but after i entered university on 2007. I started to learn baratham on my own through online and friends… SO, now i am a classical dancer but untrained. Most of my friends and people said i really dance very good and all my positions and movements are perfect.. I think its a god’s gift miss. Miss, i actually joined a dance group on 2008 during my university time and my adopted sister who is the owner of the group opened up a dance studio. So, i plan to conduct a bharatanatyam class since i know it and to run the studio as well… Miss, is it possible for me to run it ??? Can i learn from the videos u post ?? I think miss posted all the steps about bharatanatyam… I just want some advice from u miss… Thanks a lot for your time and for all the information that u shared with all of us…
@Haresh, I would not say you are untrained, because you have taken efforts to train yourself as much as possible. You need so much of dedication and patience to be self taught. Above all its Lords grace. Now what you can do is obtain certification and make your self qualified if that is what you worried about. I get loads of emails each day and I realize that having completed Arangetram or having a certification does not mean you can be a teacher or a dancer. All you need is commitment, dedication and a longing for it. Currently there are few Universities in India that offer BFA and MFA courses and you only need to attend their contact programs once every 3 months. Shastra university,Kalai Kaveri university. Hope this information helps
Mam,i accidentally saw dis blog.Really wondered while reading the materials u have provided…. Am not a classical dancer. But now i want 2 know more and more and get into its beauty….Have great days ahead mam…Thank u
Hi Anjaly sis…
I wish to know,age is a barrier for learning Bharathanatyam?I am 26yrs old.I wish to learn this.Is it possible?
@Anusha, no age barriers to learn. Just get started and enjoy the process.