An Interactive Guide To Bharathanatyam - Volume 1 - Lite

How would you use your hands and eyes to depict a preening peacock? A singing lark? A tinkling brook? A lumbering elephant? This app presents a fun and interactive way to learn the vocabulary of the ancient, vibrant, and phenomenally popular Indian classical dance form Bharatanatyam, as has evolved over thousands of years and widely practiced today.

Perhaps you are a student of Bharatanatyam, or a student of a different dance form wanting to know more about Bharatanatyam. Or perhaps you are the parent of a budding dancer. Maybe you are looking for a tool to spark your child’s interest. Or a teacher looking for an innovative teaching aid for your dance students. Perhaps you are a layperson, wanting to appreciate the nuances. Perhaps your granddaughter or niece or neighbor’s child has a big performance coming up and you want to better understand her recital. Or maybe you are an accomplished dancer, looking for a reference tool that you can dip into as needed.

This app is tailored to be of use to anyone who is interested in learning or refreshing their knowledge of the basics of Bharatanatyam. It is the first in a series of apps that will lay out the entire Bharatanatyam vocabulary in an interactive, fun format that will appeal to beginners and experienced dancers, laypeople, teachers, experts, and dance enthusiasts.

LEARN the basics: In addition to a salutation to Lord Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer, the app includes lessons on the single hand* and double hand* gestures, head movements*, neck movements*, and eye movements* used in Bharatanatyam. The original Sanskrit verses detailing these movements and gestures are accompanied by beautiful pictures, English translations, and other information. Complex gestures are represented in detailed freeze-frame animation. Click on a gesture to see its uses* as prescribed in the ancient text, the Abhinaya Darpana. Click on the name of the gesture to hear its pronunciation. Click on the ‘Did you know’ icon on any page to see interesting facts relating to the history of this ancient dance tradition.

PLAY fun games to test your knowledge and unlock new modules! Match gestures to their names and words to their meanings. Pick the correct uses of different gestures*. Race against the clock to put pictures in the correct sequence*. Challenge yourself in a memory game that helps you learn as you play*. With several different games and levels of difficulty, the app provides hours of challenging fun as users progress through the levels and modules.

With an attractive user interface and games created by a dancer/Bharatanatyam guru, and modified based on suggestions from parents, teachers, experts, and most importantly, dance students, this app brings you content straight from the ancient texts, in a format that caters to the modern day student.
* This content is available in the full version of the app