The art of Bharatanatyam: Classical Indian Dance history and current practice (a lecture demonstration for students)

The School of Archaeology and Anthropology is delighted to present 'The art of Bharatanatyam, the history and current practice', a Lecture and Demonstration for students. The Lecture will provide a brief overview of the history of the Bharatanatyam Classical Indian dance form, and how its practice has changed over the years due to the influence of caste, social status, colonial and Victorian ideas of femininity and sensuality, into what it is today. Aranyani Bhagarav began to train in Bharatanatyam at a very young age under Leela Samson, one of India's most celebrated exponents of the form. Since then, Aranyani has continued her training and performed extensively in India and across the globe. Aranyani's distinctive approach to this form of Classical Indian Dance places equal importance on the traditional and modern forms, the human and divine, the religious and secular. Aranyani's approach is eclectic, and she draws from other dance forms: ballet and contemporary dance, Pilates, yoga and martial arts. This approach has also led her to engage with dance academically. Studying at the University of Oxford, she wrote her dissertation of multiple-modernities within Bharatanatyam. Aranyani is now also the artistic director of her dance company 'Vyuti', which explores interactions and body contact between multiple dancing bodies through the grammar of Bharatanatyam.