Kathakali - Malayali Classical Dance

Kathakali - Malayali Classical Dance

Kathakali is a highly stylized classical Indian dance-drama noted for its attractive make-up of characters, their elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music and complementary percussion.
Kathakali means a story play or a dance drama. Katha means story. Belonging to the South-Western coastal state of Kerala, Kathakali is primarily a dance drama form and is extremely colourful with billowing costumes, flowing scarves, ornaments and crowns. The dancers use a specific type of symbolic makeup to portray various roles which are character-types rather than individual characters. Various qualities, human, godlike, demonic, etc., are all represented through fantastic make-up and costumes.

Origin of Kathakali

Kathakali as it is known today is not more than three to four hundred years old, even though its actual roots can be traced to at least 1500 years earlier. The art of Kathakali incorporates the characteristic features of many of the dances and dramas and it is safe to conclude that Kathakali evolved out of the earlier dance forms like the Chakiayarkoothu and Koodiyattom in Kerala, various ritual dances associated with the cult of Bhagavathy, such as the Mudiyattu, thiyyattom and Theyyattom, the socio-religious and material dances such as the Sastrakali and Ezhamattukali and the lately evolved dance - dramas such as the Krishnanattom and Ramanattom.

Indian Kathakali Dancers

One of the great living performers this art today in Kerala is Guru Ramankutty who both teaches and performs all over the world with his troupe. Another well known Guru and practitioner of this style in Bombay is Guru Gopalakrishnan.