Bharatnatyam-Kathak Fusion (Delhi repertoire)

Understand

Where Bharatnatyam-Kathak Fusion (Delhi repertoire) comes from

Delhi has been the meeting point of the northern and southern classical-dance traditions of India since the 19th century, with the founding of institutions like the Kathak Kendra (a unit of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, established 1964), the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and the Bharatiya Kala Kendra. The Delhi classical-dance repertoire includes performances of both the northern (Kathak) and the southern (Bharatanatyam) classical forms, with frequent fusion productions combining elements of both. This composite tradition is one of the defining cultural offerings of the National Capital Region and is performed at the Spic Macay festivals, the IIC dance festivals and the major state cultural programmes of the year.

How it's practiced

The classical-dance tradition of Delhi is performed at the cultural institutions of the city (the Kamani, the IIC, the National School of Drama) by soloists and by groups drawn from the major classical-dance traditions of India. The performances are stage-form recitals that draw on the central repertoire of each form — the Kathak tarangam and parhant, the Bharatanatyam varnam and tillana, the Kuchipudi Tarangam and the Odissi pallavi. The dances are accompanied by the orchestra of the relevant form (the tabla-sarangi for Kathak, the mridangam-violin for Bharatanatyam). Costume is the classical-dress of the relevant form — the Anarkali for Kathak, the temple-sari for Bharatanatyam. Performances are at the cultural institutions of Delhi and at the major festivals of the year.