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Kathakali Dance

South Indian state, Kerala, is the place where this dance originated. The basic thing about the Kathakali is that it is form of dance-drama. The very name of Kathakali itself suggest as what you should expect from this dance form. Kathakali means “Story-Play”, so that’s what you will be getting when you will be able to get a chance to take part in one such play.

When you will first come in touch with the people performing this dance-drama, you will be amazed about the makeup. People, in this dance, pay a real attention to the makeup as half of their work will be done by the expressions that will come out with the makeup. You can understand how well they would be doing it. Along with the makeup, the costumes are also a feast to watch, for sure. As a whole, you can easily experience the five main elements on which the whole drama is based. Expressions, Dance Enactment vocal accompaniment and last but certainly not the least is Instrument accompaniment. These are the main things that comprise a Kathakali dance drama.

In its earlier days, the story was performed for the whole night, however, now, you can participate in a drama that only last for three to four hours. The most of the stories are based on the religious incidents, for instance, stories from Mahabharata is still quite popular in this sort of dance drama. However, to cater the needs of present times, people are now endeavoring to take it to another level and you can also fancy watching the stories from Bible and also from the English literature, for instance stories of Shakespeare are quite in.

Whole of the dance-drama is performed in the dance enactment along with the music that compliments the whole theme. However, the commendable thing about the whole thing is the stamina and the effort that the actors put in. They really do it with dedication otherwise it would not be possible for them to carry on.