Nope, this is not about an animation movie about Bharatanatyam. It is pure emotions! Raw and crude to the core!
Did that make you curious? Good, cos it is about animated GIF’s (pronounced as jif) and how it can be used in the world of BN. None of the images used have any BN dancers, but the emotions it carries is universal.
Among the nava-rasas, it is said that Hasya is the most difficult to perform. Hence it is a delight to see hasyam on stage. In recent years, dancers have concentrated more on being angry at the lover, soaking in devotion, etc…and it gets rarer to see a dancer evoking laughter amongst the rasikas. I think, from time to time we all need a dose of good humor and the best one to find is in animated GIFs. Tumblr has tons of it. The ones I thought could be used in the world of BN are for your enjoyment. Were you able to relate to some? or at least laugh at it? 🙂
Pep talk minutes before the arangetram
In response to the pep talk
Arangetram: What others perceive
Arangetram: How you feel inside
Arangetram: Expectation in mind
Arangetram: Reality after watching the video
What dancers tell to others when they did not understand why they dance
Guru to student: Are you sleeping in the class, sitting next to me while watching your classmates dance?
Why do we need to do some research on dance and its history!
Guru to student: Who missed the talam on stage?
Some Seniors to Juniors!
(ok, that was taking poetic liberty to the extreme)
Some thematic dance concerts explained by a rasika to others
I am sure this happens very rarely, still some just don’t get it.
BN Rasika: Did I just see something weird happening on the stage?
When the guru adds one more jathi korvai in the already exhausting varnam
How my mind reacts listening to my favorite BN song while working in the office
When someone writes about my dance in glowing terms!
When someone criticizes, in not so glowing terms
When someone wakes me after a long tiring rehearsal
BN rasika at an abroad venue watching a dance program with westerners and can’t let go the habit of applauding after every jathi
When a new dance student is standing on your spot in class
To those who said “you can’t achieve this”
Seeing a famous dancer at a non-dance venue or in a casual wear
Trying to explain the difference between jathi and jaathi to a newbie
How people react to something written supposedly blasphemous
When you quote a term from Natyashastra, which unfortunately others are not so familiar about
Seeing photographs of a recital that happened just 3 years ago.
When the guru checks before the dance recital and you are prim and proper
When some stranger talks about your dance in front of you
When a dancer is in the midst of non-dancers who talk non-dance stuff
What you say to yourself when you get the jathi right the first time
The secret behind a successful dance recital
When being a full time professional dancer doesn’t work out, hypothetically
Winning dance competitions
Cooling off after a program
What one tells to oneself before understanding the nayika’s situation in a padam
How life in general treats you
Bharathanatyam and the worldwide web 