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 Kuchipudi, the
indigenous style of dance took its birth and
effloresced in the village originally called
Kuchelapuri or Kuchelapuram, a hamlet
in Krishna district. From its origin, as far
back in the dim recesses of time as the 3rd
century BC, it has remained a continuous and
living dance tradition of this region. The
genesis of Kuchipudi art, as are most Indian
classical dances, is associated with
religion. For a long time, the art was
presented only at temples and that too only
for annual festivals of certain temples.
According to tradition, Kuchipudi dance was
originally performed only by men and
they all belonged to the Brahmin community.
These Brahmin families were known popularly
as Bhagavathulu of Kuchipudi. The very first
group of Bhagavathulus of Kuchipudi was
formed in 1502 AD.
Siddhendra Yogi redefined the dance form.
Fifteen Brahmin families belonging to
Kuchipudi have carried on the tradition for
more than five centuries. Renowned gurus
like Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana, Chinta
Krishna Murthy and Tadepalli Perayya
enriched the dance form by bringing in
women. Dr.Vempati Chinna Satyam added
several dance dramas and choreographed many
solo performances, thus broadening the
horizons of this dance form. The transition
has been striking from a time when men
played female parts to the present when
women play even the male parts.
Kuchipudi art, to be noted, was intended as
a dance-drama requiring a set of characters
and not just as a dance by a soloist which
is common in present times. This dance-drama
is sometimes known as Ata Bhagavatham. The
plays are in Telugu and traditionally all
roles are taken by men alone.
Kuchipudi plays are enacted in the open air
and on improvised stages. The presentation
begins with some stage rites which are
performed in full view of the audience. Then
the Soothradhara or the conductor and the
supporting musicians come on the stage and
give a play of rhythm on the drums and
cymbals. In a Kuchipudi performance, each
principal character introduces himself or
herself on the stage with a daru. A
daru is a small composition of dance and
song specially designed for each character
to help him or her reveal his or her
identity and also to show the performer's
skill in the art. There are nearly 80 darus
or dance sequences in the dance drama.
The most popular Kuchipudi dance is
the pot dance in which a dancer keeps
a pot filled with water on her head
and feet kept on a brass plate. She
moves on the stage manipulating the brass
plate, with the feet kept on its rim and
doing some hand movements without
spilling a drop of water on the ground
thus astounding the audience.
Apart from Bhama Kalapam, the other famous
dance dramas are Gollakalapam by Bhagavatha
Ramayya, Prahlada Charitam by Tirumala
Narayanacharyalu, Sashirekha Parinaya etc.
The makeup and costumes are characteristic
of the art. There is nothing elaborate in
the costumes and the makeup is not so heavy.
The important characters have different make
up and the female characters wear ornaments
and jewellery such as Rakudi (head
ornament), Chandra Vanki (arm ornament),
Adda Bhasa and Kasina Sara (neck ornament)
and a long plait decorated with flowers and
jewellery.
The music in Kuchipudi is classical carnatic.
The mridanga, violin and a clarinet are the
common instruments employed as
accompaniment.
Today Kuchipudi like Bharatanatyam has
undergone many changes. The present day
dancers having advanced training in
Kuchipudi style, present this art in their
own various individual ways. There are
presently only two melams, or professional
troupes of male performers. The bulk of the
dancers are woman. In its present day
dispensation, Kuchipudi has been reduced
from a dance-drama to a mere dance and from
an uplifting theatre experience to a routine
stage affair.
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