Adavu & Hastha - basic footwork and hand gestures -- details about this are given separately.

Anjali

Anjalis are invocation dances where salutation is given to a deity and dance. Most of the Anjalis are called Pushpanjali because any form of worship is done with Pushpa meaning flowers, where flowers are showered over the statue or gently placed at the feet. Because KNS has developed so many kinds of Anjali, they are given individual names to better identify. These are given separately.

Allaarippu

Means 'to bloom'. It comprises of movements without any meaning or expression. The steps are gradually increase in complexity giving the impression of a bud blooming into a flowerl Basically, this is a warmup piece to prepare the body for the next few hours of performance. It comprises of gliding neck movements, hand and leg positions and movements called Angahasta. To a professional viewer, the Allarippu can be a mark of test and the First Impression. Some Allarippus have a background song just to give it a variation. The movements are performed for syllables set for a beat (Tala) and within that Talam is 'Gati' so that's what makes it Tisragati (three) and Chatursagati (four).

Gouvthvm

Gouvthvm is also an Invocation dance that addresses a deity directly. It has a special way of merging the jathis in the middle of the lyrics, almost sounding like modern days 'Rap' music.

Jatiswaram

Jati means pure footwork and hasta and Swara is melody. This is also a piece that has no meaning as such but unlike Allarippu it is set to a Raga. It starts off with only one jati in the beginning but ends in a Theermana after each segment. Side movements, backward forward movements are its distinct characteristics. KNS has taught just 2 Jathiswarams in Kalyani and Hindolam. Due to its nature of not having any particular expression or story, KNS has eliminated this from most Arangetrams.

Padham

Almost any dance of expression or story line is classified as Padham. Jatis may or may not decorate such a piece. Sometimes it could be purely only Abhinaya (expression) and sometimes Jatis can be included. Javeli, Ashtapadi, Keertanam and Devaranama fall under this category. An elaborate version of this piece is called PADHAVARNAM (meaning colorful Padham).

Shabdam Tandavam

This is a dance item with both Nritta and Nritya or Abhinaya. The theme of the lyrics is devotional to a deity. Shabdam was identified as devotional dances on Krishna but a Shabdam on Shiva can also be called a Tandava. That is why I have grouped the two together. Information on Tandavas are given separately under Nataraja. In KNS we have learnt many Shabdams and at least 10 of them are on Shiva. Learning this item can be a very good preparation and prerequisite for starting a Varnam.

Padha-Varnam

As a central piece of a Bharatanatyam repertoire and a benchmark to judge the artist's talent, this is a TEST of skill and mastery of both Nritta and Nritya/Abhinaya and the ability to perform and hold the audience interest for a long time. 'Varnam' as it is shortly called lasts from 25 to 45 minutes. The item will contain many complex steps and will have lot of room for expressions as well. To perform this item the dancer should attain a lot of stamina and concentration.

Perhaps because of its length, the dance is divided into two portions. In the first half the story is divided into 3 or 4 parts with each part having only one or two lines ending in long and complicated jathis. Each line will be repeated 6-8 times or more bringing out the actual dance mudras at the beginning and end of a segment, the end in a thattu-mettu adavu. In between indirect expressions or stories are conveyed and that is called SANCHARI BHAVA. When you show the actual DANCE mudras it is called NATYADHARMI but when you u

Keertanam

Keertanam is a pure Abhinaya item in medium tempo and sometimes interlinked with small adavu combinations to increase its charm. Nadanam Aadinaar (Vasantha ragam) describes the cosmic dance of Shiva in Chidambaram but this is classified as a Keertanam.

Javeli

Javeli is a type of Padham in fast tempo. Javeli is normally set in the local language instead of Sanskrit.

Ashtapadi

Jayadeva wrote many poems called GEETAGOVINDA and these poems are translated to dance. Ashta means 8 and pad means verse. So there are 8 lines to a verse. These poes are usually dialogues between Krishna and Radha. It is both romantic and spiritual as it merges jeevatma (earthly soul) with paramatma (divine). These dances definitely need more grace and Abhinaya is given foremost importance. Each aspect of Krishna is given a name and that will be discussed separately.

Devaranama

Purandaradasa and other famous poets wrote in Kanada language and there works were called Daasa Sahitya. These are devotional lyrics written in simple language for the common man. Dances based on these compositions are called Devaranama.

Mangalam

Mangalam is performed at the end of a recital. It is the shortest piece that concludes with a salutation to God, Guru and Audience. Some dancers may merge this with one of their favorite small padhams and yet others may do a simple 'namaskar' while the singer uses names of their favorite gods in the background.