Kuchipudi short essay

One of them was American dancer Esther Sherman who came to India in 1930 and later adopted the name Ragini Devi. The repertoire of Kuchipudi follows three performance categories namely ‘Nritta’ (Nirutham), ‘Nritya’ (Niruthiyam) and ‘Natya’ (Natyam) mentioned in ‘Natya Shastra’ and followed by all major Indian classical dance forms.

The Kuchipudi performance usually begins with an invocation. Then, each costumed actor is introduced, their role stated, and they then perform a short preliminary dance set to music ( dharavu ). Next, the performance presents pure dance ( nritta ).

The theoretical foundation of Kuchipudi is rooted back to the ancient Sanskrit Hindu text on the performing arts called ‘Natya Shastra’ which is accredited to Indian theatrologist and musicologist Bharata Muni.

This art was likely adopted by the musical and dancing Bhakti traditions of Vaishnavism which grew in the 2nd millennium, whose devotees were called Bhagavatulu in Andhra region and Bhagavatars in Tamil region of south India. In Andhra, this performance art evolved into Kuchipudi, while in Tamil Nadu it became known as Bhagavata Mela Nataka.