pandanallur style of bharathanatyam

saramati · Post by **saramati** » 28 Feb 2009, 10:50

could we discuss the pandanallur style of bharathanatyam. I have heard of thanjavur style and kalakshetra style. Is is a subtle variation
of the kalakshetra style of dance. There was an article in this friday Hindu paper on the proponent of this style by Dance Guru,
Smt.krishnakumari narendran.

jayanthisundar2k · Post by **jayanthisundar2k** » 28 Feb 2009, 15:14

My opinion is that all styles are now loosing its originality and I take this as a positive growth in the field of Bharathanatyam.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 28 Feb 2009, 22:07

These are purely my observations:

The pandanallUr style is the pre-runner of the kalAkshEtra style - Srimati RDA's guru was the doyen of the pandanallUr style, Sri Meenakshisundaram Pillai. The kalAkshEtra style evolved form this style (so, you could imagine the pandanallUr style as janaka style and the kalAkshEtra style as the janya style). IMO, the differences between the p'nallUr and kalAkshEtra style involve both technique and overall impact - technique wise, the k'kshEtra style is more austere, way more symmetrical and angular, and the taTTimeTTus are very distinctive. As far as I can tell, the p'nallUr style is also angular, but not so austere, has characteristic forward leaps/jumps, and is so into intricate jatis with kaNakkus, kArvais, usis etc. with many stationary karaNas (all styles do this, but the p'nallUr is totally into this). The p'nallUr style has traditional padams and jAvaLis in the mArgam, while the k'kshEtra style is more into bhakti kIrtanams as 'padams', with no jAvaLIs.

Having said all that, melding of styles, like Jayanti says, seems more common these days.

The various styles I am aware of include tanjAvUr (which is probably the fore-runner of all these styles), vazhuvUr, pandanallUr (all villages in the tanjAvUr district of TN), kAncIpuram, mELattUr, mysUr, kalAkshEtra, and most recently, bharatanrityam.

saramati · Post by **saramati** » 01 Mar 2009, 22:53

many thanks rshankar. found your response very interesting and informative.

saawariya · Post by **saawariya** » 10 Mar 2009, 23:09

bharatanrityam....this is a new term i have heard...thank you rshankarji
is there any video to view these various styles?
of all i might be able to identify kalakshetra more easily.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 11 Mar 2009, 06:55

saawariya,

bharatanrityam is what Dr. Padma Subramaniam has called her style which is based on the nATyaSAstra, including the interpretation of karaNas as movements and not stationary poses, rEcakas etc. I am not an expert, but it is easy enough to appreciate the difference. Regarding vazhuvUr and kalAkSEtra styles, in the 'appreciating bharatanatyam' thread, I think there are links to youtube videos that may be of use.