Mudras

A dance is made up of several korvais put together; a korvai is made up of several adavus put together and adavus are composed of mudras and mandalas, which I mentioned in an earlier post. In this post I'll be talking about what a mudra is, why it is used and the different types of mudras used in Bharatanatyam.

A mudra is simply a hand gesture. It is used to express a feeling, an idea or a story to the audience, visually, without using any words. This applies to a Niruthiyam dance. In a Nirutham dance, mudras are used to create aesthetic pleasure and to accompany the leg movements.

Many mudras together form hastas, or hand movements, which depict certain things. Form example, Deva hasta is a group of hastas used to portray different gods like Indra, Agni, etc. Also, one mudra may have several viniyogas, which means meanings or uses. These terms will be explained in upcoming posts.

There are two different types of mudras in Bharatanatyam, Asamyutha Hastas and Samyutha Hasthas. Asamyutha means single-handed and Samyutha means double-handed. There are many different hand gestures, but right now, only 28 single-handed ones and 24 double-handed ones are used. 

Korvai

A korvai is a sequence containing many different adavus. A combination of many different korvais together make a natiyam, or a full Bharatanatyam dance. Korvais should be performed according to the rhythm of the song, as in, the footwork or the steps should be done in accordance with the beat of the talam. The finale should also be in accordance with the talam. So if the korvai is being performed in Adi talam, which contains 8 beats, then it should end on the 8th beat. A korvai should end with a Theermanam and with the solkattu Tha thing kina thom or Kita thaka thari kita thom. Korvais should always be balanced on both sides, both for aesthetical reasons and so that the adavus fit in with the talam. By using the word 'balanced', I mean that the adavus or movements performed on the right side must also be performed on the left. So if, for example, you perform a Nattadavu using the right hand first, then you must make sure that you also do that adavu using the left hand. To make the korvai look attractive and visually appealing, you can start it in Vilamba kalam, followed by Madhima kalam and finish it in Thuritha kalam. This can be compared to its analogy of a new bud blooming into a mature flower. Finally, when you compose a korvai, you must remember not to have any repetitions, as in that after a pair of adavus are performed once, they shouldn't be repeated within the same korvai.

Adavus

Let's begin with identifying what an Adavu is, as they are the basic components of dance.

• Adavus are made up of the union of mudras (hand movements) and mandalas (foot movements). 
• The word 'Adavu' is supposedly derived from the Tamil word 'Aadu', which means 'to dance'
• A combination of Adavus together form a Korvai, which is like a routine or a sequence of movements
• Adavus are accompanied by normal vocal solkattu, by which I mean the nattuvanar recites the verbal syllables, such as 'Theiya Thei', and plays the nattuvangam. The mridangam and the other instruments won't be used for accompanying Adavus.
• They can be present in all 3 kalams or speeds, namely Vilamba, Madhima and Thuritha
• They are like the alphabets of Bharatanatyam. 
• There used to be so many different Adavus, but now they have been shortened down and organized into specific groups, such as Tattadavu and Nattadavu, by a group of people known as the Tanjore Quartet
• As of now, there are about 12-15 groups of Adavus, depending on the style of the Bharatanatyam, such as Kalakshetra and Vazhuvoor, and the Guru.
• Some groups, such as Tattadavu, have as much as 8 different varieties, while some, such as Kartari Adavu, have just 1.

New students should first take a lot of time to master the basic Adavus before moving on to learning dances like Alarippu and Jatiswaram, as Adavus are the foundation of dance and it's always important to have a strong foundation before moving on to more complex aspects