Browsing: Classical Dance

Sankaracharya mentions the lasya or grace of the Goddess in several of his verses, while the recurring theme of Mohiniyattam – the pain of a Nayika separated from the Nayaka, can be metaphorically compared to Jīvātma yearning to be reunited with the Paramātma.

The manuals for several Kerala art forms like Koodiyāṭṭaṁ and Nangiārkūttụ are said to have been formed during the age of the Kulasekharas, who followed the Chera dynasty in Kerala. The current day Mohiniyattam can be considered a dance form in the lasya style which imbibed the core principles of many ancient dance forms of Chera influence

Hasta Mudras

Hailing from Tokyo, Japan, the writer Keiko Okano has been practising and performing Mohiniyattam in Kerala for more than a decade now, shuttling between Kerala and Tokyo. This is a brief story of her journey to Kerala, to becoming a Mohiniyattam dancer.