This is an issue that has come up 3 times in the last week, and I now realize that for people new to Bharatanatyam, this is not obvious. So allow me to clarify:
The simplest analogy I have: Bharatanatyam is to Bollywood as ballet is to swing dance. Bharatanatyam is not something you pick up in a few classes to have some fun moves to show off at a night club. It took me 3 months just to be able to sit in aramandi, the basic stance. More non-Indians than not have told me that the neck movements of Bharatanatyam (called atami) creep them out, so this is definitely not the sexy-town attraction dance you're probably going for.
To further clarify, here's a brief and incomplete run down of the dances of India:
Bharatanatyam
Obviously, the best form of dance from India.
More seriously, it's a form of classical dance, meaning the movements are precise and highly organized. It has both prescribed steps and a whole vocabulary of expression and gestures to communicate with the audience.
It is from the state of Tamil Nadu
It's highly religious in theme and is held in very high esteme within the Hindu community.
This is not a dance you do for kicks at a club, although I kind of want to try that sometime. It's also definitely not something you dabble in.
Bollywood
As my dance teacher describes it:
When people ask me where they can learn some of the dance I do to perform at the first Indian wedding they're attending, this is usually what they're mistaking Bharatanatyam for.
There are lots of classes in Bollywood all over the Bay Area and everywhere else, but I don't know anything about them beyond that.
Bhangra and other Indian Folk Dances
Another increasingly popular form of Indian social dance is Bhangra. It comes from the Punjab region in India/Pakistan and has a lot of characteristic shoulder shaking. The 'pet-the-dog-and-screw-in-the-lightbulb' is Bhangra.
There are other forms of folk dance. Garba is another popular one. It comes from Gujarat, a Western state that's next to Punjab, and there are big Garba events everywhere there are Gujuratis, including the Bay Area. Dandiya is another Gujurati folk dance, but it involves sticks.
Other Forms of Classical Dance
There's pretty much a different classical dance for each region. Some of them are similar to Bharatanatyam, like Odissi and Kuchipudi. They are both from states near Tamil Nadu (Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, respectively).
Kathak is a form of classical dance prominent in the north. It's similar to some of the dances of Persia and the middle east. It's more upright and involves a lot of spinning (think Whirling Dervishes).
Bharatanatyam is not a social or recreational dance. What you're thinking of is Bollywood and/or Bhangra.
The simplest analogy I have: Bharatanatyam is to Bollywood as ballet is to swing dance. Bharatanatyam is not something you pick up in a few classes to have some fun moves to show off at a night club. It took me 3 months just to be able to sit in aramandi, the basic stance. More non-Indians than not have told me that the neck movements of Bharatanatyam (called atami) creep them out, so this is definitely not the sexy-town attraction dance you're probably going for.
To further clarify, here's a brief and incomplete run down of the dances of India:
Bharatanatyam
Obviously, the best form of dance from India.
More seriously, it's a form of classical dance, meaning the movements are precise and highly organized. It has both prescribed steps and a whole vocabulary of expression and gestures to communicate with the audience.
It is from the state of Tamil Nadu
It's highly religious in theme and is held in very high esteme within the Hindu community.
Rama Vaidyanathan: Badass of Bharatanatyam
This is not a dance you do for kicks at a club, although I kind of want to try that sometime. It's also definitely not something you dabble in.
Bollywood
As my dance teacher describes it:
"an amalgam of classical, folk, popular dance, western movement, etc. where anything that the director pleases is adopted"[1]It's mostly for fun. It's not about precision or exact positions. It's the Indian equivalent of hip hop, and increasingly, includes a lot of hip hop.
If it's on a train, it's definitely Bollywood
When people ask me where they can learn some of the dance I do to perform at the first Indian wedding they're attending, this is usually what they're mistaking Bharatanatyam for.
There are lots of classes in Bollywood all over the Bay Area and everywhere else, but I don't know anything about them beyond that.
Bhangra and other Indian Folk Dances
Another increasingly popular form of Indian social dance is Bhangra. It comes from the Punjab region in India/Pakistan and has a lot of characteristic shoulder shaking. The 'pet-the-dog-and-screw-in-the-lightbulb' is Bhangra.
There are other forms of folk dance. Garba is another popular one. It comes from Gujarat, a Western state that's next to Punjab, and there are big Garba events everywhere there are Gujuratis, including the Bay Area. Dandiya is another Gujurati folk dance, but it involves sticks.
Other Forms of Classical Dance
There's pretty much a different classical dance for each region. Some of them are similar to Bharatanatyam, like Odissi and Kuchipudi. They are both from states near Tamil Nadu (Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, respectively).
Kathak is a form of classical dance prominent in the north. It's similar to some of the dances of Persia and the middle east. It's more upright and involves a lot of spinning (think Whirling Dervishes).
Kathak sequence from Devdas
Possibly the least like Bharatanatyam is Manipuri. It comes from the north east of India (near Tibet) and involves drums and acrobatics.
I hope this clears matters up.
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