Kerala, the God's Own Country, is one of the most colorful and culturally rich states of India. Kerala has a very rich cultural heritage, which dates back to thousands of years. The cultural richness of fascinating Kerala can be viewed in its beautiful dances, martial arts forms and other performing arts. The people of Kerala are known for their liveliness and vibrancy and love to celebrate their happiness in the form of folk dances and music. There are several dance forms in Kerala including Kathakali and Mohiniattam, which are appreciated all over the world. Other famous dances of Kerala are Bharathanatyam, Theyyam and Chakyarkoothu. Visit Kerala and enjoy its colorful dances of on Kerala Cultural Tour with Kerala Backwaters.

Among folk dances Kolkali, Krishnattam, Koodiyattom, Thiruvathirakali, Kalaripayattu, Panchavadyam, Kaliyootu, Chavittunatakom, Thullal, Kalampattu and Kakkarishi Natakom are widely enjoyed. Visit Kerala and enjoy colorful performances of Kerala dances. Kerala Backwaters offers a wide range of Kerala Cultural Tours offering a perfect opportunity to enjoy Kerala dances and music. On your Kerala Tour with Kerala Backwaters, you can enjoy the entertaining performances of Kathakali, Mohiniattam, Theyyam and Chakyarkoothu among many others. A colorful evening of Kathakali and Mohiniattam can be very enjoyable and stimulating experience for you.

Kathakali
Koodiyattam
Mohiniyattam
Thullal
Panchavadyam
Chakkiarkoothu
Kalarippayatt
Thiruvathirakali
Kolkali
Theyyam
Krishnanattam

Kathakali

Is Kathakali a stylized dance-drama? Is it a pantomime? Can it be called a classical ballet? One of the world's top-ranking poets and Nobel Laureates Rabindranath Tagore was instantly impressed by the aesthetic range and the narrative techniques of Kathakali when Kalamandalam presented a programme in Santiniketan. Along with Manipuri Tagore included Kathakali in the curriculum of Viswabharati. Kathakali was born only in the 17th century. But in less than four centuries it grew up to represent India's cultural heritage to the world outside. An eclectic art Kathakali evolved its classicism receiving inspiration from most of its predecessors such as Koodiyaattam, Krishnanaattam, Raamanaattam, Theyyam, Mudiyeettu and martial arts like Padayani and Kalarippayattu.

Kathakali plays have their themes selected from the great Indian epics, Raamayana, Mahaabhaarata, and the Bhaagavata. The play synchronizes on stage nritta (pure dance), nritya (expressional dance), naatya (histrionics), geeta (vocal music) and vaadya (percussion ensemble). Kathakali characters communicate through the language of hand-gestures (over six hundred gestures are in use), body movements and facial expressions. The text of the play is sung by the principal and supporting vocalists. The dancers simiotically translate the songs into appropriate gestures, movements and expressions. Chenda and Maddalam are the two major percussion instruments used in Kathakali. They provide audio effect to the performance by tracing the character

behavior, which includes both the aamgika (gestural) and saatvika (emotional) aspects of abhinaya (acting).

A colorfully decorated piece of cloth functioning as a curtain, movable to any part of the stage and called tirassiila is held by two persons just before the entry and exit of all main characters and on other specific occasions such as manifestation of deities. This is a traditional theatrical device to transcend time and space. The Malayalam term tirassiila means ‘wave cloth’. The allusion is to the popular belief that the king of Kottaarakkara, who formalized Raamanaattam, the immediate predecessor of Kathakali visualized the superhuman characters as though they were playing on the waves of ocean. It may also be noted in this connection that it is the portion below the skirt of the Kathakali characters which appears to have received the least attention of the costuming and make-up artist.

Kathakali make-up and costuming ( the aahaarya aspect of acting ) is intricate, elaborate and colorful. It takes about three hours for an actor to transform into a full-fledged character with facial make-up, head-gear, ornaments and colorful costumes. Kathakali characters are broadly divided into noble, wicked and grotesque. Their make-up and costumes differ from one another. Love, Separation, virtue vs vice, comic-relief, emotional struggles, gruesome-war and murder are common scenes in the Kathakali plays. More than the themes, the stylistics of individual performers is the abiding passion of Kathakali fans.

Kalamandalam gives intensive training in Kathakali to young aspirants. Body-massage is a must for Kathakali students. Teachers will massage the students from head to foot in the wee small hours of the morning during monsoon - June to August. After applying oil throughout the body the students have to take a set of exercises. There are also post-massage exercises. Massage makes the body supple and allows him a lot of flexibility in all movements on stage. Body-massage is a treatment involving strain and pain. Kathakali perhaps adapted this training-technique from Kalaripayattu (martial arts). In Kalamandalam Kathakali students are trained in such a way as to master the techniques first. Character-analysis and emotional identification are encouraged to be undertaken during successive stages of study according to individual preferences and leaving sufficient room for improvisation within the classical frame work.

Koodiyattam

Koodiyattam, the sole surviving classical Sanskrit theatre has recently won the UNESCO’s recognition as an illustrious example manifesting intangible human heritage. It is a two thousand year old theatre-tradition. Traditionally Koothu and Koodiyattam are the privilege of the temple castes known as Chakyars and Nambiars. Chakyars enact the male-characters and Nangiars (the women of the Nambiars) enact the female-characters. Nambiars play Mizhaavu, the major percussion-instrument in Koodiyattam. The plays of Kulasekhara, Sakthibhadra, Bhasa, Kalidasa and Bodhayana are presented act by act in Koodiyattam. The four-fold concept of acting dealt with in the Naatyasaastra, sage Bharata's ancient treatise on dramaturgy, find its due significance in Koodiyattam. Aamgika (hand-gestures and body-movements), vaacika (spoken word or verbal acting), aahaarya (make-up and costuming) and saatvika (expression of emotions) in Koodiyattam are highly stylized. One finds in Koodiyattam more of naatyadharmi (stylized acting) compared to other classical art-forms.

Apart from the epic heroes, heroines, villains and demonesses there is the Vidooshaka (Royal clown) who speaks three languages, Sanskrit, Prakrit (Crude form of Sanskrit), and the local dialect (Malayalam). His words and actions convincingly portray the true-character of the protagonist. In the past he was a social auditor. His diatribes against the establishment and those in power were a corrective force in the feudal-society. The main characters in Koodiyattam customarily enact 'Nirvahana'; a recollection of past events in the play to form a backdrop for stepping into the present.

Nangiarkoothu brings to the forefront a female character, played by a dansuese. From the broader perspective of the Chakyar-arts It is essentially the debut or nirvahana of the female character. Nangiar in forty one days enacts Sreekrishna Caritam (The story of Lord Krishna). She appears on stage as the ceed i(maid) of Subhadra (Krishna’s sister) in the play, Subhadraadhananjayam of king Kulasekhara. Theatre artists, choreographers and theatre researchers in different parts of the world evince keen interest in the aesthetic-dimensions of both Koodiyattam and Nangiarkoothu. They come quite often to Kalamandalam for an intimate observation and analysis of these theatre traditions.

Mohiniyattam

There is no precise historical evidence to establish the antiquity of Mohiniyatttam, the classical female dance-tradition of Kerala. Probably it was evolved in the seventeenth century. In the court of King Swathi

Thirunal who ruled Travancore (South Kerala) in the 18th century, Mohiniyattam flourished along with Bharatanatyam, the classical dance of Tamil Nadu. The post-Swathy period witnessed the downfall of Mohiniyattam. 'The dance of the enchantress' slipped into eroticism to satisfy the epicurean-life of some provincial satraps and feudal Lords. Poet Vallathol rescued Mohiniyattam from total extinction. It was added to the curriculum of Kalamandalam at its very inception and within the past seven decades a number of prominent figures have emerged in the field, under its aegis, giving shape to what has come to be known as the ‘kalamandalam style’.

The make-up and costume of Mohiniyattam is simple and semi-realistic. The dancer's face is made up of yellow and pink-paste. She wears sandal colored, jerry - decorated jacket and waist garment. . Jasmin flowers adorn her tied up hair. Her eyes are blackened with collirium and lips reddened. The theme of Mohiniyattam is, in general, devotional love towards God, the eternal lover. Vishnu or Krishna is more often the hero. We feel his invisible presence when the heroine or her companion (sakhi) describes him through graceful laasya (feminine) type of dance involving delicate hand-gestures and circular, wave like body-movements. In the slow and medium tempos the dancer finds adequate space for improvisations and suggestive facial expressions. The invocation of Mohiniyattam is known as colkkettu. jatisvaram, varnam, padam and tillaana are the other items in a Mohiniyattam-recital. Varnam is the piece of de resistance in Mohiniyattam. Tillaana unfolds to the audience the dancer's rhythmic virtuosity. Padam focusses on abhinaya. Mridamgam, Violin and Edakka lend excellent support to the vocal music and to the visual rhythm of Mohiniyattam.

Like Mohiniyattam Bharatanatyam of Tamil Nadu and Kuchupudi of Andhra Pradesh are quite familiar to Keralites. They enjoy watching these dance-forms. Kalamandalam offers training in Bharatanatyam and Kuchupudi as subsidiary subjects.

Thullal

Thullal is a considerably simplified single-actor performing art that enjoyed much more popular appeal than Kathakali, the so called ‘total theatre’. Kunchan Nambiar who lived in the 18th century composed dozens of tullal stories, adding to the literature of the local language, Malayalam, a new genre which consisted of narrative poetry replete with social criticism surcharged with pungent satire and sarcasm. These compositions were singularly suitable for presentation on the stage attracting even the unsophisticated illiterate through highly rhythmic recitation enlivened by closely accompanying percussion instruments and agile dance involving mono-act. Thullal has three varieties - Seethankan, Ottan and Parayan. The distinction between them lies mostly in the make-up and costumes and to some extent in the metres and the rhythm used. Thullal often reflects the literary, artistic and cultural life of the medieval Kerala. In Thullal, episodes from the Indian epics are retold in simple Malayalam couplets that are interconnected and resemble blank verse. The stylized singing of the lines carries with it the beauty of the dravidian meters. Thullal is a solo performance. As a semi-stylized dance-theatre, Thullal is a more popular entertainment than other temple arts. In the present day it has turned out to be an effective medium of even election-campaign. The performer establishes easy rapport with the audience through verbal acting which is full of humor and social references.

Panchavadyam

Panchavadyam, an orchestra composed of Timila, Maddalam, Edakka, Cymbols and Kompu was introduced in Kalamandalam as a course of study only recently. It is an ensemble performed mostly during temple-festivals. Panchavadyam provides sufficient scope for collective and individual performance. Starting from a slow tempo it steadily progresses and reaches the crescendo. It is a tower of rhythm created in front of caparisoned elephants lining up in the temple-yard during the festival. The music of Panchavadyam is engrossing especially in the lush green background of the pastoral-temples.

Chakkiarkoothu

This is a very ancient dance form of Kerala. It is believed to have been introduced by the early Aryan immigrants . This is performed by the members of the Chakkiar caste. It is a highly orthodox type of entertainment. It is staged inside temples only and the theatre is known as ‘Koothambalam.’ The performances are usually witnessed by the Hindus belonging to the higher castes.

In Chakkiarkoothu, the story is recited in a quasi-dramatic style with emphasis on eloquent declarations with appropriately suggestive facial expressions and hand gestures. The only accompaniments are the cymbals and the drum known as the mizhavu, made of copper with a narrow mouth on which is stretched a piece of parchment.

Kalarippayatt

Kalarippayatt is the traditional martial art of Kerala. It is believed to be the forerunner of all eastern martial arts . It has played a significant role in the technical development of all other performing arts in Kerala. Its roots can be traced back to the 12th century when skirmishes among the many feudal principalities were very common.

Kalarippayatt is still taught in Kerala. The CVN Kalari Sangham in Thiruvananthapuram imparts training in Kalarippayatt. The founders of this Sangham played a significant role in the revival of Kalarippayatt. There are Kalries in north Kerala too, especially in Kozhikode.

Masters of Kalarippayatt are called GURUKKAL. Kalarippayatt is taught inside a special arena called KALARI, which is part school, part gymnasium and part temple. A kalari is constructed following traditional principles. Its rectangular design is always aligned east - west direction and Hindu deities are represented at each corner.

Training in Kalarippayatt begins at a very young age. Both boys and girls are taught. Learning requires ritual stretching and flexing exercises to achieve balance and concentration. To increase suppleness of limbs, a full body massage is given. During the course of the training, various weapons are introduced including the sword and shield of the medieval warrior.

Kolkali

Kolkali:is a group dance form of the farming community in Kerala. Twelve to twenty four dancers move rhythmically in a circle around the ceremonial lamp, tapping the two feet long wooden sticks held in their hands.

Theyyam

Theyyam is one of the most outstanding ancient dance form of Kerala. It has its origin in the northern parts of the state. It is a very fascinating ritual practised for centuries by the tribal people and the villagers of Northern Kerala. This folk art form is also called Thirayattam, because every thira or village performed this ritualistic art at the village temple. The Theyyam or Kolam (a form or shape), represents a mythological, divine or heroic character. There are over 350 Theyyams in northern Kerala.

It is a dance form glorifying the Theyyam, the local deity, who is believed to bless and arbitrate between the farmers and their landlords. This primitive ritualistic art demands long hours of preparation before the performance. The bizarre head dresses, costumes and body painting and trance like performances are very extraordinary. Each one has a distinguishing headgear and costume made out of natural materials like leaves and bark. Musical accompaniments are chenda and veekuchenda (drums), elathalam and kuzhal (horn). Theyyam is always performed by men. Female roles are also enacted by men wearing suitable makeup and colourful costumes.

During the festival season between January and April, Theyyam performances can be seen in the villages in the erst-while Malabar region, especially in the Kannur District. There are regular Theyyam performances at Sri Muthappan Temple in Parassinikadavu, which is some 20 km north-east of Kannur town.