PERFORMING ART

Performing Arts are arts are the skills that require a performance
in front of a public / audience. It’s a way of a communication.

Major Performing arts include the dance, music, opera, drama, magic, oratory and circus arts.

Performing arts may include musical theatre, illusion, mime, spoken word,

puppetry, stand-up comedy, professional wrestling and performance art.

There is also a specialized form of fine art, in which the painters( visual artists) perform their

work live to an audience in tune with music or dance which are performed by other artists.

Performance Arts are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas .
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Performing Art – India
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The four major performing arts of India are dance, music, theatre , film & folk arts.
Indian Dance dates back to the earliest Indus Valley Civilization.
It is traced on carved stones which the earliest Indian civilization
gave importance to diverse forms of Dance.

Indian art is acknowledged for its immense sense of design, which can be seen in both
modern and traditional forms. Indian art can trace its origins to antiquity (ancient past).
It has been influenced by cultural as well as religious elements
such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and Islam.
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Music is perhaps the most universal of the performing arts and is found in every society, most often as an integral part of other performing
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art forms including rituals, festive events or oral traditions. It can be found in the most diverse contexts: sacred or profane, classical or folk,
closely connected to work or entertainment. The occasions on which music is performed are just as varied: marriages, funerals, rituals and
initiations, festivities, all kinds of entertainment as well as many other social functions.

Dance though very complex, may be described simply as ordered bodily movements, usually performed to music. Apart form its physical
aspect, the rhythmic movements, steps and gestures of dance often express a sentiment or mood or illustrate a specific event or daily act,
such as religious dances and those representing hunting, warfare or sensual activity.

Theatre / Drama performances usually combine acting, singing, dance and music, dialogue, narration or recitation but may also
include puppetry or pantomime ( no dialouges, performers communicate through movements and face expressions).

These arts, however, are more than simply ‘performances’ for an audience; they may also play crucial roles in culture and society such as songs sung
while carrying out agricultural work or music that is part of a daily habits , rituals.
In a more intimate setting, lullabies are often sung to help a baby sleep.
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Performing Art – India
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Natyashastra is a collective writing of performed arts, drama, music
and dance - by great Sage Bharat Muni.
Bharata Muni is remembered as the exponent / creator of
the Rasa theory. Considered as the fifth veda.
Rigved, Yajurved, Samved and Atharv ved are the great 4 vedas.

Natyashastra is the earliest detailed literature on music and drama – written somewhere around
500 BC by Bharata Muni. Comprising 6000 couplets in Sanskrit and spread over 36
chapters, Natyashastra's focus was on dance and drama, with music as an aid. The title is a
combination of two Sanskrit words – Natya and Shastra.
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Music as a Performing Art
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Music is made or created by using sound from human voices or instruments.
Sounds are grouped together to form melody, harmony, and rhythm. Music is
cultural activity universally that is present in all human societies. Listening to
music triggers the release of three powerful chemicals: dopamine, serotonin and
oxytocin. It can activate the release of endorphins,
which creates a general feeling of well-being .
These hormones give us a rush of pleasure, support reward and motivation and
help us to feel connected to others.
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Music Performing Art – India
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The Samaveda
(Sanskrit: सामवेद,Sāmaveda, from सामन,् "song" and वेद, "knowledge"), is the
Samveda is a veda of Music ; melodies and chants.
It is an ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, and is one of the sacred scriptures in
Hinduism. One of the four Vedas, it is a liturgical text which consists of 1,875
verses.
Samveda is a veda dedicatedly explaining about music.
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Music as a Performing Art – India
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Cave art of Bhimbetka illustrates musical instruments such as Gongs, Bowed Lyre, daf etc. Taal is an ancient music

concept traceable to Vedic era texts of Hinduism.

The two main traditions of Indian classical music are Carnatic music, which is practised predominantly in the southern

regions, and Hindustani music, which is found in the northern, eastern and central regions.
Both the classical music are standing on the fundamentals of The seven notes ( Sapt Swaras) of Indian Classical music.

Carnatic music can be traced to the 14th - 15th centuries AD and thereafter. It originated in South India during the rule

of Vijayanagar Empire . Carnatic music has served as the foundation for most music in South India, including folk music,

festival music and has also extended its influence to film music in the past 100 –150 years or so.

The tradition of Hindustani music dates back to Vedic times where the hymns (bhajans) in the Sama Veda.
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Music as a Performing Art – India
• Light classical music

There are many types of music which comes under the category of light classical or semi-classical.
Some of the forms are Thumri, Dadra, Bhajan, Ghazal, Chaiti, Kajri, Tappa, Natya Sangeet ,
Sugam Sangeet and Qawwali. These forms place emphasis on explicitly seeking emotion
from the audience, as opposed to the classical forms.
Films have an impact on Indian’s minds. Cultural impact of Indian cinema, with its characteristic film
music, has not only spread all over Indian society, but also been on the forefront of the spread of India's
culture around the world.

Check this site for intersting facts-: Music of India en.Wikipedia.org

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Dance as a Performing Art – India
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Performing arts, dance generally refers to human movement, typically rhythmic
and to music, used as a form of audience entertainment in a performance setting.

Classical dance has a deep-rooted relationship

with the Natya Shastra.
Majorly presented to glorify to god’s images
such as Shiv, Krishna, Durga, Kali and many
Do dance description their stories from hindu mythology.

Folk dance on the other hand, emerged from the local tradition
of the respective state, ethnic or geographic regions and it can be more of free movement
performed with euphoria and joy. It is a raw art.
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• Dance as a Performing Art – India
All classical dances of India have roots in Hindu arts and religious practices.The tradition of
classical dance has been codified in the Natyashastra and performance is considered to create
a rasa (emotion) among the audience by performing a particular bhava
(gesture or facial -expression).

Classical dance is distinguished from folk dance because it has been regulated by the rules of the
Natyashastra and all classical dances are performed only in accordance with them.
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Dance as a Performing Art – India
• The Nrutya Shastra is the source of the traditional dance form.
Learning of any classical dance is a disciplined process. Training starts at young age.
Willing student has to learn the skill under the experienced Guru and obey him/her. Folk art is the
creative expression of the human struggle toward civilization within a particular environment .
Watch these links for detail information of classical & folk dance styles –
wildvoyager.com
drishtiias.com
www.byjusexamprep.com
studyiq.net
tutorialspoint.com
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There are seven major classical dance styles in India —
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Bharatnatyam from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka,
Kathakali a classical dance-drama from Kerala,
Manipuri from Manipur,
Kathak from Uttar Pradesh,
Odissi from Orissa, and
Kuchipudi from Andhra Pradesh and
Sattriya from Assam.
According to the source and researcher, India has eight traditional dance genres.
The Cultural Ministry of India has added Chhau from Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal. to the list of traditional dances.
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Folk art refers to the art of the people, Folk art is amateur, self-taught, and non-conventional art style.

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Folk art refers to objects made by people who aren't trained in a formal fine art tradition. They didn't study
in art academies. Folk art is regional. Almost every village of India has its own style of folk arts.

Few names of Famous Folk dances of India

•Lavni ,Powada, Lezim, Koli dance- Maharashtra, Ghoomar- Rajasthan.
•Jhumair or Jhumar- West Bengal, Jharkhand.
•Rasila-Uttar Pradesh. Garba, Dandiya- Gujarat.
Lambi- Karnataka. Dalkhai from Odisha. Jat-Jatin and Jhijhiya- North Bihar.
•Bhangra ,Giddh –Punjab and Rouf of Kashmir
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• Drama as a Performing Art – India
Drama is defined as a form of performance that involves conflicts, emotions, and the portrayal
of human experiences through dialogue and action.
Drama techniques include voice, body, movement, and use of space. Voice includes pitch, pace,

. pause, projection, tone, and volume. Body includes posture, gesture, facial expressions, and
eye-contact. Drama is combination of verbal, non verbal (gestures) and visual communication.
Bhāsa ,Sanskrit poet, playwriter and philosopher (born 3rd century ad, India) was the earliest
known Sanskrit dramatist.
Modern Indian theatre, shaped by the convergence of Sanskrit, folk, and Western traditions.
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• Drama Performing Art – India
Indian drama begins its classical stage in the classical period with the
composition of the Nātyaśāstra can be traced back
to 1200-1500 BCE.
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Kālidāsa in the 4th-5th century CE, was one of ancient India's greatest Sanskrit dramatists and
occupies the same position in Sanskrit literature that Shakespeare occupies in English literature.

Bhāsa is considered to be one of the best Sanskrit playwrights, second only to Kalidasa. He is
earlier than Kalidasa and is dated to the 3rd or 4th century.
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• Drama Performing Art – India
Indian classical drama is regarded as the highest achievement of Sanskrit literature.

The Buddhist playwright, poet and philosopher Asvaghosa, who composed the Buddhacarita, is
considered to have been one of the first Sanskrit dramatists along with Bhāsa.
Sanskrit plays were very popular and were staged in ancient times all over India. Now the only
surviving ancient Sanskrit drama theatre is Koodiyattam, which is preserved in Kerala by
the Chakyar community.
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Some Information about the Performing Art other than the India .
Greek Greek plays were performed in an
outdoor theatre, used masks, and were almost always
performed by a chorus and 3 actors (no matter how
many speaking characters there were in the play, only
three actors were used; the actors would go back
stage after playing one character, switch masks.
Roman Roman theatres derive from and
are part of the overall evolution of earlier Greek
theatres. Much of the architectural influence on
the Romans came from the Greeks.
The Colosseum to be an entertainment venue,
hosting gladiator fights, animal hunts, and even
mock naval battles. It is depicted on the Italian
Version of the 5 euro cent coin.
Colosseum, giant amphitheater built in Rome
under the Flavian emperors.

Roman Theatre of Mérida Well preserved Roman Theatre of Aspendos

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China The performing arts in China have a long history. The performing

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arts range from martial arts like Kung Fu to folk songs and dances that vary by
region and area.
The art from China often has a central theme of nature, harmony and balance
that makes it an excellent example of the values . With a history that dates back
over 10,000 years, it is no surprise that Chinese art has a developed
and unique design that is an important part of the country's history.

Juggling, acrobatics, ropedancing, buffoonery, and puppetry—the “hundred

entertainments” of China and called sangaku, “variety arts,”
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China Performing Arts Lists
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•Chinese Kung Fu
•Chinese Acrobatics
•Opera 1
•The Chinese Folk Dances & Music 2
•Chinese Shadow Plays 3
•Chinese Puppet Plays
•Chinese Classical Instruments
•Ten Most Famous Melodies in Ancient China
-Chinese Lion Dance & Chinese Dragon Dance
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Japan Kagura dances dedicated to native deities and performed at the imperial court or in
villages before local Shintō shrines. It is still performed much as it was 1,500 years ago, to religious
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chants accompanied by drums, brass gongs, and flutes. Dances were later, in the 14th century,
brought to the cities and performed as court entertainment and called dengaku (“field music”).

•Kabuki - Kabuki is one of three major classical theatres of Japan, emerging in the Edo Period and
still performed to this day.
•Noh - Noh was the first theatrical art in Japan, performed by certain community and one of the
oldest surviving theatrical forms.
•Bunraku - Banraku is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the
beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day.
•Geisha and Maiko - Geisha are female Japanese performing artists and entertainers trained in
traditional Japanese performing arts styles, such as dance, music and singing.
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Noh

Gaisha Banraku -
Puppet show

KABUKI
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THE END
COMPILED BY NEETA CHAUDHARY