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Kathakali

File:Kathakali_-Play_with_Kaurava.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Kathakali (IAST: Kathakaḷi ) is a traditional form of Indian Classical Dance, and one of the most complex forms of Indian theatre. It is native to the Malayalam-speaking state of Kerala and is almost entirely practiced by the Malayali people. It is a play of verses. These verses are called Kathakali literature or Attakatha. Mostly played in the courts of kings and temple festivals. Hence it is known as suvarna art forms. This performance uses the navarasas from the Natya Shastra text, authored by sage Bharata. Makeup and costumes are unique and large. It represents one of Kerala's traditional

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Vinony's link graph records 1,585 inbound references to Kathakali, and connects out to history of Hinduism, Malayalam and Vedas.

It sits within the topics Classical dance genres of India, Classical theatre of india and Dances of Kerala.

Vinony links it to 45 Wikipedia language editions.

Key facts

Dance.origin
Kerala
Dance.name
Kathakali
Dance.image
File:Kathakali -Play with Kaurava.jpg
Dance.genre
Indian classical dance

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
Gopiasan-and-harinarayanan (4506992629).jpg
Show 2 more facts
Commons category
Kathakali
inception
1650-00-00
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~26 min read

Encyclopedic overview

20 sections
Contents
  • Overview
  • Etymology and nomenclature
  • History
  • Links to older performance arts: Kutiyattam, Krishnanattam and Koothu
  • Repertoire
  • Costumes
  • Makeup
  • Acting
  • Sequence
  • Songs and musical instruments
  • Offshoots and modern adaptations
  • Styles: Sampradayam
  • Training centres and awards
  • Awards for Kathakali artistes
  • Related dance forms
  • See also
  • Notes
  • References
  • Sources
  • External links

Kathakali (IAST: Kathakaḷi ) is a traditional form of Indian Classical Dance, and one of the most complex forms of Indian theatre. It is native to the Malayalam-speaking state of Kerala and is almost entirely practiced by the Malayali people. It is a play of verses. These verses are called Kathakali literature or Attakatha. Mostly played in the courts of kings and temple festivals. Hence it is known as suvarna art forms. This performance uses the navarasas from the Natya Shastra text, authored by sage Bharata. Makeup and costumes are unique and large. It represents one of Kerala's traditional theater artforms. Kathakali is closely related to a more ancient theater artform of Kerala called Koodiyattam which is the only surviving specimen of the ancient Sanskrit theatre, thought to have originated around the beginning of the common era, and is officially recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

thumb|Kathakali is one of the eight classical dances of India

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Kathakali” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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