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The various features of lasya propounded
in the major texts on dance and music summarize that
lasya is a sukumara type of dance, especially practiced
by women. It has sringara as its dominant rasa and is
symptomatic of expressions of love and desire between a
nayaka and nayika. It encompasses such emotions that
enliven the facial features and expressions (mukhrag).
Delicate angaharas, karanas and charis are expressed in
a ‘vaidarbhya reeti’ (in the style of Vidarba). (‘The story of lasya’ by Dr. Vibha Dadheech, Nartanam, Apr-July 2006) |
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Renaissance dances belong to the broad
group of historical dances. The dances in these manuals
are extremely varied in nature. They range from slow,
stately dances (bassadance, pavane, almain) to fast,
lively dances (galliard, coranto, canario). Some were
choreographed, others were improvised on the spot. One
dance for couples, a form of the galliard called
lavolta, involved a rather intimate hold between the man
and woman, with the woman being lifted into the air
while the couple made a 3/4 turn. Other dances, such as
branles, were danced by many people in a circle or line. (Wikipedia) |
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The present day mohiniyattom has
evolved from the regional variation of dasiyattom
which was prevalent in south India. This regional
variation of dasiyattom was known as avinayakkoothu.
The main feature of this dance is the rhythmic
interpretation of the meaning of songs with hand
gestures and body actions. The basic approach is the
same in present day mohiniyattom as well. Here
also the meaning of the song is brought out through the
movements of eyes, brows, hand gestures and dance. The
musical instruments used like the kuzhithalam, tudi,
mukhaveena etc., are also the same. From avinayakkoothu
to mohiniyattom it might have been a long
process of evolution involving addition, elimination and
experimentation. (P J Cherian (Ed), Essays on the Cultural Formation of Kerala) |
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