Abstract
Current pedagogical systems in dance majorly focus on performance training which has a
major leaning towards entertainment service. As a result, the repertoire of movements has been
restricted in catering to what is popular. This has led to a repetitive template-based training
fitting into the audio-visual norms of the aesthetics of the time, which restricts the scope for
further evolution of the dance form and curtails the possibilities of newer dance forms to emerge.
Historically dance as a knowledge system was fundamentally taught in a form-neutral, styleneutral fashion with the ulterior motive of serving broad societal functions including ritualistic,
devotional, and entertainment purposes. It is important to observe that only with the universal
understanding of dance, the masters of yesteryears were able to design and formulate newer
artforms in order to meet newer requirements of the clients and times.
Any knowledge system has its universal fundamentals through which any of its regional practices can be taught. For example, music is generally taught through musical notes, considered
to be universal and allows any musical system to be taught and practised. However, dance does
not have common fundamentals through which all forms of dances can be taught. This research
aims at deriving these universal fundamentals of dance systematically and devise a pedagogical
system to disseminate these universals.
To this end, the objectives are as follows. First, to establish the possibility of having universal
dance fundamentals by reviewing the pertinent Dance Texts and understanding Dance Practices
of Traditional Practitioners. Second, to systematically arrive upon categories of universal dance
fundamentals to create form-neutral, style-neutral holistic Indian Dance Pedagogy catering to
children and beginners. Third, to create a Pedagogical method to teach the universal dance
fundamentals. Fourth, to develop a pedagogical tool as an aid to teach the universal dance
fundamentals. Since the lower half body training serves as the fundamental training offered in
any dance form, this research is focussed in creating a pedagogical system to understand the
dance movements of the lower half of the body.
In order to identify the universal fundamentals of dance, a survey of the lower-half bodypostures and movements mentioned in the Ancient Indian Dance texts such as Nāṭyaśāstra,
Saṅgītaratnākara and Abhinaya Darpaṇa, and specific postures where the foot/feet are in contact with the floor were collected. As the major dance texts are not form- or style-specific, the
postures mentioned in the dance texts are form-neutral and style-neutral. Based on analysis of
these texts and from practice, the logical progression from one posture to another is identified.
This gives rise to the logical prediction of the unmentioned postures in between the already
mentioned postures of the texts. This enables a learner not to memorise the postures but gives
a pedagogical method to understand movements as a progression based on logical parameters.
Similarly the movements from the dance texts and practices were collected and logically arranged.
In the process, it is observed that movements have three major components, that is, Posture,
Transition and Rhythm in Transition. Posture is the static body position which serves as a
marker to the movements. This way of understanding Postures springs out of an anatomical
approach and the possible affordances of the joints, to make a posture. The postures are systematically arrived at based on eight parameters namely, part of the body in contact with the
earth, Knee Positions, Knee angle, Feet angle, Body weight orientation, Foot position, Part
of the foot touching the point and Feet Distance. Transition is dynamic. It is understood as
a transitory movement from one posture to another. Despite similar postures across sports,
martial arts, yogasana, dance and theatre could be common, the Transition, or the movement
in between the postures is the factor which decides whether the act is of sports, martial arts,
yogasana, dance or theatre. It is in fact the Transition which decides the form or style of dance.
The Transitions are systematically arrived at based on seven parameters namely, lifted leg,
point of lifting the leg, foot variation which is touching the point of lifting, part of the foot
which is touching the point, trajectory traced by the foot as it reaches to the point, trajectory
traced by the foot as it comes out of the point of lifting and foot activity. Furthermore, the
parameter Rhythm in Transition determines the specific dance form and dance style. By understanding Postures, Transitions and Rhythm in Transition one can systematically understand
the fundamentals of the movements, and more specifically dance movements. The mentioned
three parameters served as a basis for a pedagogical framework, based on which a pedagogical
meth