View source for Kuchipudi

{{short description|Indian classical dance}}
{{for|the village where this dance came from in Andhra Pradesh, India|Kuchipudi, Krishna district}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox dance
| name        = ''Kuchipudi''
| image       = Kuchipudi Performer DS.jpg
| alt         = 
| caption     = 
| native_name = 
| etymology   = 
| genre       = [[Indian classical dance]]
| signature   = 
| instruments = *''[[Mridangam]]'' 
*[[Cymbal]]s 
*''[[Veena]]''
*[[Flute]]
*''[[Tanbur|Tambura]]''
| inventor    = 
| year        = 
| origin      = [[Kuchipudi, Krishna district|Kuchipudi]], [[Krishna district]], [[Andhra Pradesh]]
}}
[[File:Kuchipudi Dancer, Nitya Yelamanchili, Tarangam.jpg|thumb|Dancer performing a ''tarangam'']]
[[File:Indian Dancer (Malabika Sen).jpg|thumb|A Kuchipudi ''hasta'' ([[mudra]]).{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|p=117}}]]
{{Hinduism}}

'''''Kuchipudi''''' ({{IPAc-en|,|k|uː|tʃ|ɪ|ˈ|p|uː|d|i}} {{respell|KOO|chih|POO|dee}}) is one of the eight major [[Classical Indian dance|Indian classical dance]] forms.{{Sfn|Williams|2004|pp=83-84, the other major classical Indian dances are: Kathak, Odissi, Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Manipuri, Chhau, Satriya, Kuchipudi and Mohiniyattam.}} It originated in [[Kuchipudi, Krishna district|Kuchipudi]], a village in the [[Indian state]] of [[Andhra Pradesh]].<ref name="village">{{cite news|title='Art has to be nurtured to sustain'|url=http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/%E2%80%98Art-has-to-be-nurtured-to-sustain%E2%80%99/article16993784.ece|access-date=5 April 2017|work=The Hindu}}</ref> Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of [[Natya Shastra]] ({{Circa|500 [[BCE]]—500 CE}}).<ref name="Varadpande1982p133" />{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=60-68}}{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=43-46, 80 footnote 8}} It developed as a religious art linked to traveling bards, temples and spiritual beliefs, like all major classical dances of India.<ref name="lochtefeld376">{{cite book|author=James G. Lochtefeld|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kl0DYIjUPgC&pg=PA376 |year=2002|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3179-8 |pages=376–377 }}</ref>

Evidence of Kuchipudi's existence in an older version is found in copper inscriptions of the 10th century, and by the 15th century in texts such as the ''Machupalli Kaifat''.{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|pp=79-81}}{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=67-68}} Kuchipudi tradition holds that [[Narahari Tirtha]] – a [[sanyassin]] of [[Dvaita Vedanta]] persuasion,<ref name="Krishna Chaitanya 1987 pages.74">Krishna Chaitanya (1987), "Arts of India.", pages.74</ref> and his disciple, an orphan named Siddhendra Yogi, founded and systematized the modern version of Kuchipudi in the 17th century.{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|p=73}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Banham|first=edited by James R. Brandon; advisory editor, Martin|title=The Cambridge guide to Asian theatre|year=1993|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, England|isbn=978-0-521-58822-5|page=96|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ttnH5W9qoBAC |edition=Pbk.}}</ref>{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001}} Kuchipudi largely developed as a [[Krishna]]-oriented [[Vaishnavism]] tradition,{{Sfn|Farley P. Richmond|Darius L. Swann|Phillip B. Zarrilli|1993|p=173}} and it is known by the name of [[Bhagavata Mela]] in Thanjavur.{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|pp=79-81}}

In the past, an all male troupe performed the traditional Kuchipudi. A dancer in a male role would be in ''Agnivastra'', also known as {{transliteration|hi|ISO|Bagalbandi}}, wear a ''dhoti'' (a single pleated piece of cloth hanging down from the waist).<ref name="NettlStone1998p516" /><ref name="Narayan2011p50" /> A dancer in a female role would wear a ''Sari'' with light makeup.<ref name="Narayan2011p50" /> The Kuchipudi performance usually begins with an invocation. Then, each costumed actor is introduced, their role stated, and they perform a short preliminary dance set to music ({{transliteration|te|ISO|daravu}}). Next, the performance presents pure dance (''nritta'').{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=43-45, 97-104, 117-121}} This is followed with by the expressive part of the performance (''[[nritya]]''), where rhythmic hand gestures help convey the story.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=43-45, 97-104, 117-121}}<ref name="Müller2013p310">{{cite book|author=Cornelia Müller |title=Body – Language – Communication|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VPjbBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA309| year=2013| publisher= De Gruyter| isbn=978-3-11-026131-8 |pages=310–319 }}</ref> Vocal and instrumental [[Carnatic music]] in the [[Telugu language|Telugu]] language accompanies the performance.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=147-149}} The typical musical instruments in Kuchipudi are [[mridangam]], [[cymbals]], [[veena]], [[flute]] and the [[Tanpura|tambura]].{{Sfn|Farley P. Richmond|Darius L. Swann|Phillip B. Zarrilli|1993|pp=172-173}} The popularity of Kuchipudi has grown within India and it is performed worldwide.{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=73-76}}<ref name="Oonk2007p109" />

== Nomenclature, orthography and etymology==
Kuchipudi is named after the village in [[Krishna district]] of Andhra Pradesh named [[Kuchipudi, Krishna district|Kuchipudi]] – shortened form of the full name Kuchelapuram or Kuchilapuri{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|p=67}} – where it developed.<ref name="Varadpande1982p133">{{cite book|author=Manohar Laxman Varadpande|title=Krishna Theatre in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TaF603WEv4IC |year=1982|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-151-5 |pages=133 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=A. K. Ramanujan|author2=Velcheru Narayana Rao|author3=David Dean Shulman|title=When God is a Customer: Telugu Courtesan Songs by Kṣētrayya and Others|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uhix8nKXGnQC |year=1994|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-08069-0 |pages=3 }}</ref>{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|pp=80-81}} The name of the village, states Ragini Devi, is itself derived from Sanskrit ''Kusilava-puram'', which means "the village of actors".{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|p=67}} ''Kusilava'' is a term found in ancient Sanskrit texts and refers to "traveling bard, dancer, newsmonger".<ref>{{cite book|author=Monier Williams|title=A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and philologically arranged| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uqlRAAAAcAAJ |year=1872|publisher=Oxford University Press |page=243}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Flickr - dalbera - Danseuses de Kuchipudi (musée Guimet).jpg|thumb|Kuchipudi dancers performing in Paris]]
Like other classical dance forms in India, Kuchipudi traces its roots to the Sanskrit [[Natya Shastra]], a foundational treatise on the performing arts.<ref name="Varadpande1982p133" />{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=60-68}} Its first complete compilation is dated to between 200&nbsp;BCE and 200&nbsp;CE,{{Sfn|Natalia Lidova|2014}}{{Sfn|Tarla Mehta|1995|pp=xxiv, 19–20}} but estimates vary between 500&nbsp;BCE and 500&nbsp;CE.{{Sfn|Wallace Dace|1963|p=249}} The most studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters.{{Sfn|Natalia Lidova|2014}}{{Sfn|Emmie Te Nijenhuis|1974|pp=1–25}} The text, states Natalia Lidova, describes the theory of Tāṇḍava dance ([[Shiva]]), the theory of rasa, of bhāva, expression, gestures, acting techniques, basic steps, standing postures – all of which are part of Indian classical dances.{{Sfn|Natalia Lidova|2014}}{{Sfn| Kapila Vatsyayan | 2001}} Dance and performance arts, states this ancient text,<ref>{{cite book|author=Guy L. Beck|title=Sonic Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UzUMCAAAQBAJ |year=2012|publisher=University of South Carolina Press|isbn=978-1-61117-108-2|pages=138–139 |quote='''Quote:''' "A summation of the signal importance of the Natyasastra for Hindu religion and culture has been provided by Susan Schwartz, "In short, the Natyasastra is an exhaustive encyclopedic dissertation of the arts, with an emphasis on performing arts as its central feature. It is also full of invocations to deities, acknowledging the divine origins of the arts and the central role of performance arts in achieving divine goals (...)".}}</ref> are a form of expression of spiritual ideas, virtues, and the essence of scriptures.<ref name=mog17>{{cite web|title=The Mirror of Gesture|author=Coormaraswamy and Duggirala|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1917|page=4|url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924012568535#page/n5/mode/2up}}; Also see chapter 36</ref>

The dance-drama tradition in Andhra Pradesh is of ancient origins, and the region is mentioned in the ''Natya Shastra''. Bharata Muni credits a graceful movement to the Andhra region and discusses it as ''Kaishiki vritti''. The pre-2nd century CE text calls one raga ''Andhri'', which is from Andhra.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=23-24}} The Andhri, is related to ''Gandhari'' and ''Arsabhi'', and is discussed in many other 1st millennium Sanskrit texts.<ref>{{cite book|author=Emmie te Nijenhuis|title=Dattilam: A Compendium of Ancient Indian Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q8MUAAAAIAAJ|year=1970|publisher=Brill Archive|pages=25, 291–293}}</ref> Some, state Bruno Nettle and others, place the origins of Kuchipudi to 3rd-century BCE.<ref name="NettlStone1998p516">{{cite book|author1=Bruno Nettl|author2=Ruth M. Stone|author3=James Porter |display-authors=etal |title=The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia : the Indian subcontinent|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZOlNv8MAXIEC&pg=PA516|year=1998|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-8240-4946-1 |pages=516–518}}</ref>

Dance-drama performance arts related to [[Shaivism]], in Telugu-speaking parts of South India, are evidenced in 10th-century copper inscriptions, and these were called {{transliteration|te|ISO|Brāhmana Mēlamulu}} or {{transliteration|hi|ISO|Brahma Mēlamulu}}.{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|pp=79-81}}{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|p=29}} The medieval era dance-drama performance artists were [[Brahmin]]s.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sunil Kothari|title=Parata Nāṭṭiyam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UEs7AQAAIAAJ|year=1979|publisher=Marg Publications|page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Mohan Khokar|author2=Gurmeet Thukral|title=The splendors of Indian dance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RUvRAAAAMAAJ|year=1985|publisher=Hyperion|isbn=978-81-7002-002-8|page=76}}</ref> This art was likely adopted by the musical and dancing Bhakti traditions of [[Vaishnavism]] which grew in the 2nd millennium, whose devotees were called {{transliteration|te|ISO|Bhāgavatulu}} in Andhra region and {{transliteration|te|ISO|Bhāgavatār}} in Tamil region of south India.{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|pp=79-81}} In Andhra, this performance art evolved into Kuchipudi, while in Tamil Nadu it became known as {{transliteration|hi|ISO|Bhāgavata Mēla Nāṭaka}}.{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|pp=79-81}} According to Saskia Kersenboom, both the Telugu Kuchipudi and Tamil Bhagavata Mela are strongly related to the classical Hindu dance tradition of {{transliteration|te|ISO|Yakṣagāna}} found in Karnataka, all three involve Carnatic music, but these dance-drama traditions have differences such as in costumes, structure, interpretation and creative innovations.<ref name="NettlStone1998p516" />

Kuchipudi traces its origins to its founder [[Narahari Tirtha]], the disciple of Sri Ananda Tirtha a.k.a. [[Madhvacharya]], when he was the high priest at his matha at Srikurmam and Simhachalam.<ref>(https://books.google.co.in/books?id=FT6uDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA77&lpg=PA77&dq=kuchipudi+narahari+tirtha&source=bl&ots=cC0C0iV8Sv&sig=ACfU3U0Ef7iXnc6E_Jfbp6BB88PbO4J0Ig&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwift-f8qaWDAxWRSmwGHWVOBDo4PBDoAXoECAMQAw#v=onepage&q=kuchipudi%20narahari%20tirtha&f=false)
</ref>
To implant bhakti among layman he is credited with organizing Bhagavata Melas throughout the nights and adapting many dance forms from the Srimad Bhagavatha Puranas.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V0hZEAAAQBAJ&dq=kuchipudi+narahari+tirtha&pg=PA183 | title=Religious Debates in Indian Philosophy | last1=Babloo | first1=Ravi Prakash | date=15 January 2022 }}</ref> 
Vaishnavism received a big boost in the Kalinga regions of Andhra and Orissa due to the efforts of Narahari Tirtha, Sri Jagannatha Tirtha and his disciples, the message of Bhakti was percolated through the masses via Kuchpudi and The Bhagavata Melas of Sri Narahari Tirtha and his disciples.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KRz5ykKRVAEC&dq=kuchipudi+narahari+tirtha&pg=PA67 | title=Dance Dialects of India | isbn=978-81-208-0674-0 | last1=Devi | first1=Ragini | date=5 January 1990 | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. }}</ref>

[[File:Portrait of Siddhendra Yogi.JPG|thumb|left|180px|A portrait of Siddhendra Yogi, to whom modern Kuchipudi is traditionally attributed.{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|p=80}}]]
According to Manohar Varadpande, the Kuchipudi dance emerged in the late 13th century, when [[Eastern Ganga dynasty|Ganga]] rulers from [[Kalinga (historical region)|Kalinga]] were patrons of performance arts based on the 12th-century Sanskrit scholar [[Jayadeva]], particularly the [[Gita Govinda]].<ref name="Varadpande1982p133" /> This royal sponsorship, states Varadpande, encouraged many poets and dance-drama troupes to adopt Radha-Krishna themes into the then prevailing versions of classical Kuchipudi.<ref name="Varadpande1982p133" /> These were regionally called Vaishnava ''Bhagavatulu''.<ref name="Varadpande1982p133" />

The modern version of Kuchipudi is attributed to [[Narayana Teertha|Tirtha Narayanayati]], a 17th-century Telugu [[sanyasin]] of [[Advaita Vedanta]] persuasion and particularly his disciple, a Telugu [[Brahmin]]<ref name="NettlStone1998p516" /> orphan named Sidhyendra Yogi.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Traditions of Indian Classical Dance|last=Khokar|first=Mohan|publisher=Clarion Books|year=1984|location=India|pages=158}}</ref>{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|p=80}}{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=31, 45}}{{Refn|group=note|His name is sometimes spelled Siddhendra Yogi.<ref name="NettlStone1998p516" />}} Tirtha Narayanayati authored ''[[Sri Krishna Leela Tarangini]]'' and introduced sequences of rhythmic dance syllables at the end of the cantos, he wrote this work as a libretto for a dance-drama.<ref name="Krishna Chaitanya 1987 pages.74" /> Narayanayati lived for a while in the [[Tanjore]] district and presented the dance-drama in the [[Tanjore]] temple.<ref name="Krishna Chaitanya 1987 pages.74" />

Narayanayati's disciple, Sidhyendra Yogi, followed up with another play, the ''Parijatapaharana'',{{refn|group=note|''Parijatapaharana'' means "The Stealing of the [[Nyctanthes arbor-tristis|Parijata]] Flower".}} more commonly known as the ''Bhama Kalapam''.<ref name="Khokar 1984 169">{{Cite book|title=Traditions of Indian Classical Dance|last=Khokar|first=Mohan|publisher=Clarion Books|year=1984|location=India|pages=169}}</ref>{{Refn|group=note|There are three versions of the story. In the first, [[Lord Krishna]] appears before Sidhyendra and promises [[moksha]] if he told this love epic.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=The Dances of India: A General Survey and Dancers' Guide|last1=Massey|first1=Reginald|last2=Massey|first2=Jamila|author2-link=Jamila Massey|publisher=Tricolour Books|year=1989|isbn=0-948725-04-4|location=United Kingdom|pages=27}}</ref> In another, Sidhyendra promises Krishna to dedicate his life to bhakti if his life was saved during a dangerous river-crossing.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|p=32}} In the third, Sidhyendra was simply inspired by his devotion and love for God to compose the work.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Dance in India: The Origin and History, Foundations, the Art and Science of the Dance in India – Classical, Folk and Tribal|last=Bhavnani|first=Enakshi|publisher=D. B. Taraporevala Sons & Co. Private Ltd.|year=1965|location=India|pages=57}}</ref> The ''Parijatapaharana'' tells the story of how [[Rukmini]] asked Krishna to get her the Parijata tree from the garden of the god [[Indra]] and [[Satyabhama]]'s jealousy as a result.}} When Sidhyendra Yogi finished the play, he had trouble finding suitable performers.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> So he went to Kuchelapuram, the village of his wife's family and present-day [[Kuchipudi, Krishna district|Kuchipudi]], where he enlisted a group of young [[Brahmin]] boys to perform the play.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Kuchipudi: Indian Classical Dance Art|last1=Kothari|first1=Sunil|last2=Pasricha|first2=Avinash|publisher=Abhinav Publications|year=2001|isbn=9788170173595|location=India|pages=33}}</ref> According to the tradition, Sidhyendra requested and the villagers agreed to perform the play once a year, and this came to be known as Kuchipudi.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

=== Late medieval period ===
Kuchipudi enjoyed support from medieval era rulers.{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=67-68}} Copper inscriptions suggest that the dance-drama was seen by the royalty and was influential by 1502 and through the late 16th century.{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|pp=79-80}}{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=67-68}} The court records of the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] – known for its patronage of the arts – indicate that drama-dance troupes of ''Bhagavatas'' from Kuchipudi village performed at the royal court.{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=67-68}} However, various historical inscriptions often indicate that this dance form can be tracked back to the first century BCE.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Putcha |first=Rumya S. |date=December 2013 |title=Between History and Historiography: The Origins of Classical Kuchipudi Dance |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/dance-research-journal/article/abs/between-history-and-historiography-the-origins-of-classical-kuchipudi-dance/1397F05407968103AC437521E6726D84 |journal=Dance Research Journal |language=en |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=91–110 |doi=10.1017/S0149767713000260 |s2cid=191350966 |issn=0149-7677|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The region saw wars and political turmoil with Islamic invasions and the formation of Deccan Sultanates in the 16th century.<ref name="Latif2010p71">{{cite book|author=Bilkees I. Latif|title=Forgotten|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-SCyobP0koC |year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-306454-1|pages=132, 71–74}}, Quote: "(...) the last Golconda ruler Abul Hasan, known as Tana Shah, who was credited with reviving the dying art of the Kuchipudi dance".</ref> With the fall of Vijayanagara Empire and the destruction of temples and Deccan cities by the Muslim army around 1565, musicians and dance-drama artists migrated south, and Tanjore kingdom records suggest some 500 such Kuchipudi artist families arrived from Andhra, were welcomed and granted land by the Hindu king Achyutappa Nayak, a settlement that grew to become modern [[Melattur, Tamil Nadu|Melattur]] near Tanjore (also called [[Thanjavur]]).{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=67-68}} Not everyone left the old Andhra village of Kuchipudi, and those remaining became the sole custodians of its tradition in Andhra.{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=67-68}}

Kuchipudi declined and was a dying art in 17th-century Andhra,<ref name="Latif2010p71" /> but in 1678, the last Shia Muslim [[Sultan]] of [[Golkonda Sultanate|Golkonda]], [[Abul Hasan Qutb Shah|Abul Hasan Tana Shah]], saw a Kuchipudi performance and was so pleased that he granted the dancers lands around the Kuchipudi village, with the stipulation that they continue the dance-drama.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> The Shia Sultanate was overthrown in 1687 by the Sunni Mughal Emperor [[Aurangzeb]].<ref name="Latif2010p71" /> In order to regulate public and private morals, as well as end un-Islamic practices,<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ahsan Jan Qaisar|author2=Som Prakash Verma|author3=Mohammad Habib|title=Art and Culture: Endeavours in Interpretation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hic3XnRU-VgC&pg=PA7 |year=1996|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-315-1 |page=7}}</ref> Aurangzeb banned public performances of all music and dance arts, along with ordering the confiscation and destruction of musical instruments in Indian subcontinent under control of his [[Mughal Empire]].<ref name="Eraly2000p408">{{cite book|author=Abraham Eraly|title=Emperors of the Peacock Throne: The Saga of the Great Mughals|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=04ellRQx4nMC |year=2000|publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-100143-2 |pages=408–409 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Mohan Khokar|title=Traditions of Indian classical dance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=prjnAAAAMAAJ|year=1984|publisher=Peter Owen |isbn=978-0-7206-0574-7|pages=51 }}</ref>

{{Culture of India}}

=== Colonial rule period ===
[[File:Dance .jpg|thumb|180px|A Kuchipudi dance in progress.]]
After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal Empire collapsed, Hindu rebellion sprouted in many parts of India, including the Deccan region.<ref>{{cite book|author=John F. Richards|title=The Mughal Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHyVh29gy4QC |year=1995|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-56603-2 |pages=273–286, 290–291 }}</ref> In the second half of the 18th century, during this period of political turmoil, the colonial Europeans arrived, the [[Madras Presidency]] was formed by the East India Company officials and became a part of the [[British Empire]].<ref>{{cite book | first= Hermann | last= Kulke|author2=Dietmar Rothermund | year=2004| title= A History of India | publisher= Routledge| page= 245 | isbn= 0-415-32919-1|ref=A History of India}}</ref> Andhra was a part of the Madras Presidency. During the colonial era, Hindu arts and traditions such as dance-drama were ridiculed. Christian missionaries and British officials stereotyped and denigrated dancers, calling Indian classical dances as evidence of a tradition of "harlots, debased erotic culture, slavery to idols and priests".{{Citation needed|date=July 2018}} Christian missionaries launched the "anti-dance movement" in 1892, to ban all such dance forms.<ref name=marysnodgrass166>{{cite book|author=Mary Ellen Snodgrass|title=The Encyclopedia of World Folk Dance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DMGpDAAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-5749-8 |pages=165–168 }}</ref><ref name="Ghuman2014p97">{{cite book|author=Nalini Ghuman|title=Resonances of the Raj: India in the English Musical Imagination, 1897–1947|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BkVZAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA97 |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-931489-8 |pages=97 footnote 72 }}</ref><ref name="Walker2016p94">{{cite book|author=Margaret E. Walker|title=India's Kathak Dance in Historical Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nC83DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA94|year=2016|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-11737-7 |pages=94–98 }}</ref> The anti-dance camp accused the various classical Indian dance forms as a front for prostitution, while revivalists questioned the constructed histories by the colonial writers.<ref name=amritsri73>{{cite journal|title=The Hindu Temple-dancer: Prostitute or Nun? |author= Amrit Srinivasan|journal= The Cambridge Journal of Anthropology|volume= 8| number= 1 |year =1983| pages= 73–99|jstor=23816342}}</ref><ref name=leslieorr8>{{cite book|author=Leslie C. Orr|title=Donors, Devotees, and Daughters of God: Temple Women in Medieval Tamilnadu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F___xKcP8lMC |year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-535672-4|pages=5, 8–17}}</ref>

In 1910, the [[Madras Presidency]] of the British Empire altogether banned temple dancing.<ref name=pallabinilan30>{{cite book|author1=Pallabi Chakravorty|author2=Nilanjana Gupta|title=Dance Matters: Performing India on Local and Global Stages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQly7wn0C5sC&pg=PA30 |year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-51612-2 |pages=30 }}</ref> Kuchipudi, which was traditionally staged at night on a stage attached to a Hindu temple,{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=67-68}} was impacted and like all classical Indian dances declined during the colonial rule period.<ref name=craine420>{{cite book|author1=Debra Craine|author2=Judith Mackrell|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Dance|url=https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary0000crai_a8h2 |url-access=registration|year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-956344-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary0000crai_a8h2/page/420 420] }}</ref>

After the ban, many Indians protested against the caricature and cultural discrimination, launching their efforts to preserve and reinvigorate their culture.<ref name="marysnodgrass166" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Margaret E. Walker|title=India's Kathak Dance in Historical Perspective|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=nC83DAAAQBAJ |year=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-11737-7 |pages=99–102 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Ester Gallo|title=Migration and Religion in Europe: Comparative Perspectives on South Asian Experiences|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TswFDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA32|year=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-09637-5 |pages=32 }}</ref> Due to these efforts from 1920s onwards, the classical Indian dances witnessed a period of renaissance.<ref name=craine420 /> Vedantam Lakshminarayana Sastri (1886–1956) was the influential figure who led the effort to save, reconstruct and revive Kuchipudi performance art. Sastri worked closely with other revivalists, between 1920 and 1950, particularly Balasaraswati and others determined to save and revive [[Bharatanatyam]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Douglas M. Knight|title=Balasaraswati: Her Art and Life |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3EsA2NooW4C |year= 2010| publisher=Wesleyan University Press|isbn=978-0-8195-6906-6 |pages=77, 138–141, 179, 289 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Ananda Lal|title=The Oxford Companion to Indian Theatre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DftkAAAAMAAJ |year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-564446-3 |pages=180, 225, 327, 422–428 }}</ref>

=== Modern period ===
The three influential figures in Kuchipudi, during the first half of twentieth century, were Vedantam Lakshminarayana Sastri, Vempati Venkatanarayana Sastri and Chinta Venkataramayya.<ref name=":41" /> Sastri focused on reviving and relaunching Kuchipudi after classical Hindu dances came under sustained ridicule and political degradation in the [[British Raj]], while Venkataramayya  was influential in productions for public performances and developing specialized forms of Yakshagana – another classical Indian dance, and Kuchipudi.<ref name=":41" /> Sastri is also remembered for encouraging and teaching Indian women to dance Kuchipudi as solo performers and in teams, as well as working with artists of other classical dances such as the Bharatanatyam that enabled the sharing and cross flow of ideas.<ref name=":41" /> Vempati Venkatanarayana Sastri was the guru of Sastri, taught him Kuchipudi, and was a key figure in helping preserve Kuchipudi.<ref name=":41">{{Cite book|title=Kuchipudi: Indian Classical Dance Art|last1=Kothari|first1=Sunil|last2=Pasricha|first2=Avinash|publisher=Abhinav Publications|year=2001|isbn=978-8170173595 |pages=120, 155–161}}</ref> The historic All India Dance Seminar, organized by the national arts organization [[Sangeet Natak Akademi]] in 1958, thrust Kuchipudi to the national stage.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title=Kuchipudi: Indian Classical Dance Art|last=Kothari|first=Sunil|publisher=Avinash Publications|year=2001|isbn=9788170173595|location=India|pages=7, 39–40, 192–193}}</ref>

Some Western dancers joined the Indians in preserving dance. The American dancer Esther Sherman, for example, moved to India in 1930, learnt Indian classical dances, changed her name to Ragini Devi, and joined the movement to save and revive classical Indian dances.<ref>{{cite book|author=Janet O'Shea|title=At Home in the World: Bharata Natyam on the Global Stage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4CfA4uDwCKwC |year=2007|publisher=Wesleyan University Press|isbn=978-0-8195-6837-3 |page=7 }}</ref> Her daughter Indrani Bajpai ([[Indrani Rahman]]) learnt and became a celebrated Kuchipudi dancer.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|p=190}} The public performances of Kuchipudi by [[Indrani Rahman]] and [[Yamini Krishnamurthy|Yamini Krishnamurti]] outside of Andhra region, created wider enthusiasm and more interest through new students and the expansion of Kuchipudi as a creative performance art both within India and internationally.<ref name=":5" /> The latter half of the twentieth century was dominated by the Kuchipudi school of [[Vempati Chinna Satyam]], whose efforts to further codify the modern repertoire earned him multiple accolades, including the [[Padma Bhushan]].

Some of the Indian movie actresses such as [[Hema Malini]] started their career as a Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dancer.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|p=203}} Kuchipudi performances have now spread world-wide.<ref name=":5" />

The largest group performance  with a total of 6,117 dancers in Vijayawada got into the [[Guinness World Records]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rao|first1=G.V.R. Subba|title=6,117 Kuchipudi dancers put A.P. in Guinness book|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/6117-Kuchipudi-dancers-put-A.P.-in-Guinness-book/article16943005.ece|access-date=18 April 2017|work=The Hindu|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226153418/http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/6117-Kuchipudi-dancers-put-A.P.-in-Guinness-book/article16943005.ece|archive-date=26 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Repertoire ==
[[File:Prathiksha Kashi.jpg|thumb|A dancer in a costume, an expressive part of a Kuchipudi performance.]]
Kuchipudi is a team performance, with roots in Hindu religious festivals.<ref name=lochtefeld376 /> The drama-dance involves extensive stage movements and exacting footwork, wherein the underlying drama is mimed by expressive gestures of hand (mudras), eye and face movements.<ref name=osnes183>{{cite book|author1=Beth Osnes|author2=Sam Gill|title=Acting: An International Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WTkCI62oXjEC |year=2001|publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-87436-795-9 |pages=183–184 |chapter=Kuchipudi}}</ref>{{Sfn|Farley P. Richmond|Darius L. Swann|Phillip B. Zarrilli|1993|p=173}} The expressive style is through a [[sign language]] that follows the classical pan-Indian Sanskrit texts such as ''Natya Shastra'', ''Abhinaya Darpana'' and ''Nrityararnavali''.<ref name=lochtefeld376 /><ref name="Müller2013p310" /><ref name="Narayan2011p48" /> The dance is accompanied with Carnatic music, while the recital is in Telugu language.<ref name=lochtefeld376 />{{Sfn|Farley P. Richmond|Darius L. Swann|Phillip B. Zarrilli|1993|pp=23-24, 173-174}} Just like the Carnatic music style, Kuchipudi shares many postures and expressive gestures with Bharatanatyam, such as the ''Ardhamandali or Aramadi"(half seating position or a partial squat, legs bent or knees flexed out).<ref name="Narayan2011p48" /> However, there are important differences, such as Bharatanatyam as a Hindu temple tradition trending towards geometric perfection and the spiritual, while Kuchipudi as a Hindu festival tradition trending towards more sensual supple and the folksy.<ref name=osnes183 /><ref>{{cite book|author=James G. Lochtefeld|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M|url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch |url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3179-8 |pages=103–104, 376–377 }}</ref>

Traditionally the traveling dance troupe consisted entirely of men (often [[Brahmin]]s<ref name="NettlStone1998p516" />), who moved from village to village, and performed on a stage set next to a Hindu temple.{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=67-68}} The male artists would dress up and act out the female role in a drama performed by these traveling troupes.{{Sfn|Farley P. Richmond|Darius L. Swann|Phillip B. Zarrilli|1993|pp=173-174}} In modern times, Kuchipudi has diversified, women have joined Kuchipudi dance, outnumber male artists, and are among its most celebrated artists.<ref name=lochtefeld376 /><ref name="NettlStone1998p516" />{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=20-21, 190-204}} In some cases now, it is the Kuchipudi girl artists who dress up and act out the role of boys.<ref name="NettlStone1998p516" />

The repertoire of Kuchipudi, like all major classical Indian dance forms, follows the three categories of performance in the ancient Hindu text ''Natya Shastra''. These are ''Nritta'', ''Nritya'' and ''Natya''.<ref name="Narayan2011p48">{{cite book|author=Shovana Narayan|title=The Sterling Book of Indian Classical Dance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zLOiaGDLYOAC |year=2011| publisher=Sterling|isbn=978-81-207-9078-0|pages=48–49|chapter=Kuchipudi}}</ref>{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|pp=83-84}}
*The ''Nritta'' performance is abstract, fast and rhythmic aspect of the dance.<ref name=koskoff955 />{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|pp=33-38, 83-84}} The viewer is presented with pure movement in Nritta, wherein the emphasis is the beauty in motion, form, speed, range and pattern. This part of the repertoire has no interpretative aspect, no telling of story. It is a technical performance, and aims to engage the senses (prakriti) of the audience.<ref name="Descutner2010p45">{{cite book|author=Janet Descutner|title=Asian Dance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8tCYjXOtkdgC |year=2010|publisher=Infobase|isbn=978-1-4381-3078-1|pages=45–46}}</ref>
*The ''Nritya'' is slower and expressive aspect of the dance that attempts to communicate feelings, storyline particularly with spiritual themes in Hindu dance traditions.<ref name=koskoff955>{{cite book|author=Ellen Koskoff|title=The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: The Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=73MO0eiQD_EC&pg=PA955 |year=2008|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-99404-0 |pages=955 }}</ref>{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|pp=33-38, 83-84}} In a ''nritya'', the dance-acting expands to include silent expression of words through gestures and body motion set to musical notes. The Kuchipudi actor articulates a story (particularly of Krishna) or a spiritual message. This part of a repertoire is more than sensory enjoyment, it aims to engage the emotions and mind of the viewer.<ref name="Descutner2010p45" />
*The ''Natyam'' is a play, typically a team performance, but can be acted out by a solo performer where the dancer uses certain standardized body movements to indicate a new character in the underlying story. A ''Natya'' incorporates the elements of a ''Nritya''.{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|pp=33-38, 83-84}} Kuchipudi, in its history relied on a team of dance-actors, while in modern times Kuchipudi productions include solo or duo performances.<ref name="NettlStone1998p516" />

=== Sequence ===
A complete Kuchipudi show sequence always consists of ''nritta'' and ''nritya'' in solo or group performance, but when the underlying text is a play, it may include a ''natya''. The nritta or pure abstract dance parts of Kuchipudi, states Reginald Massey, may include parts such as ''darus'', ''jatis'', ''jatiswarams'', ''tirmanas'' and ''tillanas''.{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|p=83}} The nritya or expressive performance in Kuchipudi includes ''padams'', ''varnams'', ''shabdams'' and ''shlokas''.{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|p=83}}

A Kuchipudi performance traditionally is a night performance,{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=68-69}} when rural families return from their farms and are free of their daily work. It has been performed in or next to a Hindu temple, and the stage lit by the yellow lights of castor oil burning torches.{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=68-69}}<ref name="BrandonBanham1997p96" /> The dance-drama begins with an invocation (''melavimpu'', ''puvaranga''). This may be an on stage prayer to [[Ganesha]], the Hindu god of good beginnings, or may be an invocation expressing reverence to various Hindu gods, goddesses, earth, or one's [[guru]] (teacher).<ref name=osnes183 /><ref name="BrandonBanham1997p96">{{cite book|author1=James R. Brandon|author2=Martin Banham|title=The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ttnH5W9qoBAC |year=1997| publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-58822-5|pages=96–97}}</ref>{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|p=102}}

The conductor of the performance enters and plants an "Indra's banner" staff,{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=68-69}} then introduces all the actors and the characters they play, who are revealed behind a curtain, and when each actor arrives, colored resin is thrown into the flame of one or more torches for dramatic color effects and audience's attention.{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=68-69}}<ref name="BrandonBanham1997p96" /> Each actor performs a short dance called the ''Pravesa Daru''{{Refn|group=note|This is called ''Dhruva'' in the ancient text ''Natya Shastra'', which explains its purpose as 'form an emotional connection between the actor and the audience'.{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=68-69}}}} accompanied by a short musical piece, as the vocalist describes his or her role.<ref name="BrandonBanham1997p96" /> The conductor is typically present throughout the performance, on the stage, explains the play, talks and humors the audience.{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=68-69}}

After the actors have been introduced, the '''''nritta''''' part of the Kuchipudi performance starts. The actors present a pure dance (jatis or jatiswarams), performed rhythmically to a musical [[raga]], and these are called ''Sollakath'' or ''Patakshara''.<ref name="Narayan2011p48" />{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|p=102, 120}} A basic unit of dance in Kuchipudi is called a ''adugu'' (or ''adugulu''), and these correspond to the ''karana'' in Natya Shastra.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=117-121}} Each basic unit combines hand and foot movement into a harmonious ''sthana'' (posture) and ''chari'' (gait), that visually appeals to the audience wherever he or may be sitting.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=117-121}} Each dance unit, according to the ancient text, is best performed to certain recitation of mnemonic syllables and musical beat.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=117-121}} A series of ''karana'' form a ''jati'', formalized originally as an [[oral tradition]] through Sanskrit mnemonics, later written, and these form the foundation of what is performed in ''nritta'' sequence of Kuchipudi.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=120-142}}

Thereafter comes the '''''nritya''''', the expressive part called ''abhinaya'', and this is the heart of the play.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=97-102}} The actor-dancer uses hand mudras and facial expressions inspired by the sign language in ancient Sanskrit texts, with an exacting footwork, to communicate the underlying story to the audience.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=97-102}} A solo play or solo part of the performance is called a ''Shabdam'', and this may be set to a poem, a verse or a prose.<ref name="Narayan2011p48" />{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=73-76}} A ''varnam'' combines dance with mime in order to draw out and express the ''rasa'' (emotional taste), and this can be solo or group. Parts set to poetry that are love lyrics or express deeper sentiments are called a ''padam'', and this part constitutes expressing the emotional, the allegorical and the spiritual aspects of the play.<ref>{{cite book|author=Samuel L. Leiter|title=Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre: A-N|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JttNAAAAYAAJ |year=2007|publisher=Greenwood |isbn=978-0-313-33530-3 |pages=352 }}</ref>{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=102-109}}

'''''Kavutvams''''' are a feature of the performance that is distinctive to Kuchipudi. These are performed either as nritta or nritya, to different ''talas'', wherein the dancer adds acrobatics to the complexity of presentation. For example, the dancer may perform the footwork, rhythmically to music, while balancing a series of pots on his or her head, and then add burning [[Diya (lamp)]] in both hands, as the show goes on.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=109-112}} Some artists dip their foot on a wet ink pad, then dance rhythmically on a blank white piece of paper, thus painting it; alternatively, the troupe places coloured rice powder on floor and on top the white piece of paper, then dances the musical composition on it, their weight and steps causing the pigment to stick.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=112-113}} At the end of the performance, the artist shows the audience the nature scenery or bird or flower or Ganesha or something that results.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=112-113}} A ''Mayura Kavutvam'' dance produces a painting of a peacock, a ''Vinayaka Kavutvam'' of Ganesha, a ''Simhanandi Kavutvam'' yields the painting of a lion, each set to a certain classical composition and beat, for instance.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=112-113}}

=== Costumes ===
The traditional Kuchipudi was performed by all males troupe. A dancer in a male role would be in ''Angavastra'', also known as ''Bagalbandi'', wear a ''dhoti'' (a single pleated piece of cloth hanging down from the waist).<ref name="NettlStone1998p516" /><ref name="Narayan2011p50" /> A dancer in a female role would wear a ''Sari'' with light makeup.<ref name="Narayan2011p50" />

Modern productions retain the male dress, but are more elaborate and Bharatanatyam-like for the female roles. Women artists wear a brilliantly colourful ''Sari'' (or a body fitting dress) with a pleated fan stitched in front to help highlight the exacting footwork.<ref name="Narayan2011p50" /> The end of the wrapped ''Sari'' is held fast under a light metallic (golden or brass) belt at waist. A Kuchipudi artist braids her hair somewhat differently than a Bharatanatyam artist, to reflect the regional traditions, yet wearing flowers are common. Both have symbolic elements embedded in their hair and face jewelry, such as the Vedic symbolisms for the sun and the moon, the soul and the nature, and she sometimes sets her hairdo in the ''tribhuvana'' style which represents the three worlds.<ref name="Narayan2011p50" /> Her jewelry may include hair jewelry, ear, nose, armlets, necklaces and often a leather anklet piece with little bells (''gajjelu'' or ''ghungroo'').<ref name="NettlStone1998p516" /> The forehead has a round red bindi or a symmetric tillaka, while the eyes are typically ringed with black collyrium to ease the viewing of expressions by the audience.<ref name=osnes183 />

[[File:Flickr - dalbera - Danseuse de Kuchipudi jouant Krishna (musée Guimet).jpg|thumb|140px|Kuchipudi costumes]]
Some special Kuchipudi plays may include unusual costumes and theatrics, such as round bottom water pot balanced on the head, dancing with gymnastics or stilt athletics.<ref name="BrandonBanham1997p96" /> Other plays may include wing props, a transparent head sheet, or peacock feathered crown to identify the actor playing Krishna.<ref name="BrandonBanham1997p96" />

=== Musical instruments ===

Musical instruments used in Kuchipudi are cymbals, mridangam, violin, thambura, flute. The Kuchipudi performance is led by a conductor (chief musician) called the ''Sutradhara'' or ''Nattuvanar'', who typically keeps the beat using cymbals and also recites the musical syllables; the conductor may also sing out the story or spiritual message being enacted, or this may be a role of a separate vocalist or occasionally the dancer-actors themselves.<ref name="NettlStone1998p516" /><ref name="Narayan2011p50">{{cite book|author=Shovana Narayan|title=The Sterling Book of Indian Classical Dance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zLOiaGDLYOAC |year=2011| publisher=Sterling| isbn=978-81-207-9078-0|pages=50–51 |chapter=Kuchipudi}}</ref>{{Sfn|Farley P. Richmond|Darius L. Swann|Phillip B. Zarrilli|1993|pp=172-173}} The Kuchipudi orchestra ensemble includes a drummer (''mridangam''), a clarinetist and a violinist.<ref name="NettlStone1998p516" />{{Sfn|Farley P. Richmond|Darius L. Swann|Phillip B. Zarrilli|1993|p=173}} Depending on the legend being danced out, other musicians such as a flutist may be present.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|p=153}}

=== Styles ===
Kuchipudi has several regional ''banis'' (styles), which developed because of the uniqueness and creativity of gurus (teachers).{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|p=9}} This openness and flexibility has been a historic tradition in Indian dance culture, and is traceable to early times in Kuchipudi as the ''Margi'' and ''Desi'' styles in the text ''Nrittaratnavali'' of Jaya Senapati.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=24-25}}{{Refn|group=note|''Margi'' and ''Deshi'' styles are found in other classical Hindu dances as well, with Margi being those that aim to uplift thoughts, imagination or devotional, focus on spiritual ideas, while ''Deshi'' are festive, folksy, focus on celebration and entertainment.{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|pp=32}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Kapila Vatsyayan|title=The Square and the Circle of the Indian Arts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vwLJc3pBzzUC |year=1997|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-362-5|pages=41–47}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Phillip B. Zarrilli|title=Kathakali Dance-drama: Where Gods and Demons Come to Play|url=https://archive.org/details/kathakalidancedr0000zarr|url-access=registration|year=2000|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-13109-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/kathakalidancedr0000zarr/page/35 35]}}</ref> According to Kothari and Pasricha, the styles are reflected in the ''adugulu'' or the basic building blocks of the dance in Kuchipudi.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=129-142}}}} According to Senapati, the ''Desi'' styles referred to one that incorporated innovations to the conservative ''Margi'' styles.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=24-25}} Senapati lists examples of each. For ''Margi'' styles, he describes Vedayata, Veddangam, Bommalata, Perani, Chindu, Bahurupam, Pagativeshalu and others; while for ''Desi'' styles, Senapati describes Rasaka, Charchari, Bhandika, Kollata and others.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=24-25}} Some of these styles are discernible in Warangal sculptures of the 13th century.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|p=28}}

The dance styles are based on the standard treatises, Abhinaya Darpana and Bharatarnava of Nandikeswara, which is sub-divided into Nattuva Mala and Natya Mala.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} Nattuva Mala is of two types — the Puja dance performed on the Balipitha in the temple and the Kalika dance performed in a Kalyana Mandapam. Natya Mala is of three kinds — ritual dance for gods, Kalika dance for intellectuals and Bhagavatam for common place.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}

== Major Kuchipudi dramas ==
[[File:Kuchipudi Dance Uma Muralikrishna.jpg|right|thumb|A Kuchipudi dancer performing at [[IIM Bangalore]]]]
The most popular dance-drama is ''Bhama Kalapam'' of Sidhyendra Yogi.{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=73-76}}<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=Kuchipudi: Indian Classical Dance Art|last1=Kothari|first1=Sunil|last2=Pasricha|first2=Avinash|publisher=Abhinav Publications|year=2001|isbn=978-8170173595|location=India|pages=38}}</ref> [[Narayana Teertha]] composed the ''Krishna Lila Tarangini'', a story of Krishna's life beginning from his birth to his marriage to [[Rukmini]].<ref name="Khokar 1984 169" /> Ramaiah Sastri, inspired by the ''Bhama Kalapam'', wrote the ''Golla Kalapam'', which portrays the theme of an ethical satirical conversation between a [[Gopi]] and a Brahmin.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Dance in India: The Origin and History, Foundations, the Art and Science of the Dance in India – Classical, Folk and Tribal|last=Bhavnani|first=Enakshi|publisher=D. B. Taraporevala Sons & Co. Private Ltd.|year=1965|location=India|pages=62}}</ref> Other commonly performed plays are the dance-songs (''kritis'') of [[Tyagaraja|Thyagaraja]], and the 700 surviving ''padams'' out of 4500 composed by [[Kshetrayya]] of [[Movva]].{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|p=82}}

Traditional compositions that have been internationally performed by Kuchipudi artists, particularly among Telugu diaspora communities, include ''Srinivasa Kalyanam'', ''Rukmini Kalyanam'' (marriage of Krishna and Rukmini), ''Sakuntalam Bhamakalpam'', ''Hara Vilasam'', ''Prahlada Charitram'' ([[Holi]] festival-related story), ''Usha Parinayam'', ''Sasirekha Parinayam'', ''Rama Natakam'' (probably the oldest play), ''Mohini Rukmangada'', ''Chamundeswari Sabda'', ''Ardhanareeswaram Sabda'' and ''Perini Thandavam''.{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=73-76}}<ref name="Oonk2007p109">{{cite book|author=Gijsbert Oonk|title=Global Indian Diasporas: Exploring Trajectories of Migration and Theory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BkwsMTyShi8C |year=2007|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|isbn=978-90-5356-035-8 |pages=109 }}</ref>

== Schools and training centers ==
{{expand section|date=July 2016}}
Kuchipudi training, as with all major classical Indian arts, have traditionally begun at a young age. The training includes physical exercises, theory, demonstration lessons and a lot of practice. The physical exercises range from yoga to special exercises to develop a supple body and flexibility in leg muscles, lower body, core, arms, shoulders and neck. Some examples of special exercises, state Kothari and Pasricha, are ''Dandemu'', ''Chakradandemu'', ''Ekapada'', ''Gunjeelu'', ''Kailsamu'', ''Kappilu'' and ''Moggalu''.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=120-121}} They are educated in Sanskrit and Telugu. They must also learn music, literature and become vocalists.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Massey |first=Reginald |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6MJ8jbHqIwC&dq=kuchipudi+dance+technique&pg=PA5 |title=India's Dances: Their History, Technique, and Repertoire |date=2004 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-434-9 |language=en}}</ref> Training has expanded from within traditional families to anyone across the world due to its popularization.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Basa |first=Murali |date=March 1, 2021 |title=INHERITANCE AND GROWTH OF KUCHIPUDI DANCE |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349710129}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Andhra Natyam]]
* [[Perini Sivatandavam]]
* Vilasini Natyam

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

=== Bibliography ===
*{{cite book|author=Ragini Devi|title=Dance Dialects of India|url=https://archive.org/details/dancedialectsofi0000ragi |url-access=registration|year=1990 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0674-0}}
*{{cite book|author1=Sunil Kothari|author2=Avinash Pasricha|title=Kuchipudi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xa8FamiJJKgC |year=2001 |publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-359-5}}
*{{cite book|author=Natalia Lidova|publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |doi=10.1093/obo/9780195399318-0071 |title= Natyashastra }}
*{{cite book|author=Natalia Lidova |title=Drama and Ritual of Early Hinduism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TKarwqJJP0C |date=1994 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1234-5 }}
* {{cite journal|last=Williams|first=Drid|title=In the Shadow of Hollywood Orientalism: Authentic East Indian Dancing|url=http://jashm.press.illinois.edu/12.3/12-3IntheShadow_Williams78-99.pdf|journal=Visual Anthropology|volume=17|issue=1|year=2004|pages=69–98|publisher=Routledge|doi=10.1080/08949460490274013|s2cid=29065670|access-date=30 March 2023|archive-date=25 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625041405/http://jashm.press.illinois.edu/12.3/12-3IntheShadow_Williams78-99.pdf|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book |author=Tarla Mehta | title=Sanskrit Play Production in Ancient India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l7naMj1UxIkC | year=1995| publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1057-0 }}
* {{cite book|author=Reginald Massey|title=India's Dances: Their History, Technique, and Repertoire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6MJ8jbHqIwC |year=2004|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-434-9 }}
*{{cite book|author= Emmie Te Nijenhuis |author-link=Emmie te Nijenhuis |title=Indian Music: History and Structure |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NrgfAAAAIAAJ |year=1974|publisher= BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-03978-3 }}
*{{cite book|author=Kapila Vatsyayan |title=Bharata, the Nāṭyaśāstra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zKW1PAAACAAJ |year=2001|publisher=Sahitya Akademi |isbn=978-81-260-1220-6}}
*{{cite book| author=Kapila Vatsyayan |title=Classical Indian dance in literature and the arts |year=1977 |publisher=Sangeet Natak Akademi |oclc= 233639306}}, [http://library.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/toc/z2008_2719.pdf Table of Contents]
*{{cite book| author=Kapila Vatsyayan |title=Indian classical dance |year=1974 |publisher=Sangeet Natak Akademi |oclc= 2238067 }}
*{{cite book| author=Kapila Vatsyayan |title=Aesthetic theories and forms in Indian tradition |year=2008 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |oclc= 286469807| isbn= 978-8187586357}}
*{{cite book| author=Kapila Vatsyayan |title=Dance In Indian Painting |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58fUibaZdGYC |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-153-9}}
*{{cite journal | author =Wallace Dace | title=The Concept of "Rasa" in Sanskrit Dramatic Theory | journal=Educational Theatre Journal | volume=15 | issue=3 | year=1963 | pages=249–254 | jstor=3204783 | doi=10.2307/3204783 }}
*{{cite book|author1=Farley P. Richmond|author2=Darius L. Swann|author3=Phillip B. Zarrilli|title=Indian Theatre: Traditions of Performance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OroCOEqkVg4C|year=1993|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0981-9}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.narthaki.com/kuchipudi/kuch1ai.htm Kuchipudi Academies in India] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819223404/http://www.narthaki.com/kuchipudi/kuch1ai.htm |date=19 August 2016 }}, Narthaki
{{Andhra Pradesh}}
{{Dance in India}}

[[Category:Kuchipudi| ]]
[[Category:Classical dance genres of India]]
[[Category:Culture of Andhra Pradesh]]