During the Maratha period in the 17th century, King Tulaja I patronised the art of dancing as is evident from his text Sangita Saramrta. It is the first scientific treatise to codify and methodologically give the adavus of Sadir (Bharatanatyam) which were in vogue in the 17th century.  It describe snearly 13 groups of adavus or the basic dance units as mentioned in a valuable section apportioned to the practice of dance called Srama vidhi (practice) in a dance chapter called Nrttaprakarana. This valuable section also gives the Samskrtam names with their Tamil and Telugu equivalents, notably of the varieties of foot beats, called padakuttana in Samskrtam and adavu in the practicing tradition of the dance form. Their description and the relevant sollukattus (rhythmic syllables) are also mentioned. This brings us very close to the present day practice of Bharatanatyam which too, as is natural, is undergoing some changes.
(‘A comparative study of the ‘Padakuttana’ or ‘adavu’ groups of Sangita Saramrta with the present practicing tradition of Bharatanatyam’ by Aditi Nigam Batra, Nartanam, Jan-Mar 2017)

While touring in 1904 with the famous producer and director David Belasco, Ruth St. Denis saw a poster of the Egyptian goddess Isis, portrayed enthroned in a temple to advertise the Egyptian Deities cigarettes. St. Denis fell under the spell of the poster, which she found so powerful that she made a spontaneous decision to create dances that would express the kind of mysticism she saw in the poster. From that moment on, the dancer studied Oriental philosophies, art, and dances.
(‘The dancers Ruth St. Denis and Roshanara each claimed the more “authentic” form of Indian dance’ by Tijana Radeska, The Vintage News, Oct 26, 2017)



Snippets - Monthwise listing