Music Song Dance
India’s culture fully embraces the arts, including dance and music. Many celebrations and festivals in Indian culture often showcase the rich background of dance culture. Indian dancing originated as a language of expression, performed in temples to entertain various Gods and Goddesses. Dancing is particularly important in the Hindu religion, with Lord Shiva that ‘Nataraja’, meaning ‘King of All Dances.’ Lord Shiva performs the Cosmic Dance that balances life, death, and all happening within the universe in harmonious cycles. India’s ancient tradition can actually be traced back to 6 basic forms of classical dancing. These Indian dance moves still permeate through today’s culture, from Bollywood films to weddings.
BHARATNATYAM
Bharatanatyam is the oldest classical dance tradition in India and is one of the most popular classical Indian dances. It is particularly popular in the South Indian states such as Tamil Nadu and Karanataka. This ancient dance can be traced back to over 2000 years ago! Bharatnatyam originated from the art of temple dances. It is performed by both male and female dances, with the focus being a combination of expression, music, and dance. Legend decrees that Bharatnatyam was revealed by Lord Brahma to Bharata, a famous wise figure. This sacred dance was described in the Sanskirt text, Natya Shastra – one of the fundamental principles of drama and aesthetics. In Bharatanatyam, the classical dance of India performed by Lord Nataraja, approximately fifty-five root mudras (hand/finger gestures) are used to clearly communicate specific ideas, events, actions, or creatures in which thirty-two require only one hand, and are classified as `Asamyuktanamasa Hasta’, along with twenty three other primary mudras which require both hands and are classified as ‘Samyukta Hasta’. These fifty-five are the roots, but the branches permit many more mudra, some of which are used primarily as aesthetic or decorative.
Why is music, song and dance important?
Music, song and dance are incredibly important aspects of any child’s life. From the time they’re born, parents instinctively rock their children, sing to them, bounce them, using music and movement to engage, soothe, and care for their young one. As a child gets older, parents can use this innate connection to help their child grow and succeed by learning about the developmental benefits of both music and dance. These art forms use both the body and the mind, and are key for children as they learn to make connections between their own actions and abstract intellectual concepts. By communicating freely with the voice, face, and body the children learn to express ideas with confidence, empathise with others from different cultures and backgrounds, and feel at home in their own skin. Song, music and dance can help children become more imaginative, self-aware and collaborative global citizens.
The key developmental years in a child’s life happen before they are 5 years old. Engaging with music or dance allows children to develop their motor skills e.g. communication, expression, creativity and imagination, social emotional skills, and so much more. When a child is this young, skills like recognizing patterns, sounds, and cues in music and sequencing movement, body awareness, and spatial patterns in dance are all valuable to helping the child develop successfully, and even transition into their school years.
Why should your child play music ? When creating music, children become much more engaged than when they just listen. Singing and using instruments boosts their creativity and can easily be done in groups to improve their social skills and help them bond with others. Playing music, singing and dancing is extremely important for children’s self expression. Children can’t always communicate their feelings through words, so it’s useful for them to have a healthy outlet for their emotions
Why should your child sing ? Get your child singing, dancing and playing music as early in their young lives as is possible. It will benefit their development in so many ways and you’ll both be sure to have fun too ! Singing is one way children can understand language and sound. Through singing, they will improve their vocabulary and communication skills. Rhyming in songs provides exercise for the brain and develops valuable memory skills. We all learned our ABC’s through a song.
Why should your child dance ? Children begin to make sense of sounds before they leave the womb and the first response to it is through movement of their body. When a child dances, they learn about how their body can move. They experiment with travelling motions such as walking, sliding and jumping, as well as other movements like twisting, bobbing and bending. Dancing uses different muscles than simply standing and walking around does, which strengthens them. Through dance, children learn to coordinate and control their bodies and the movement helps them develop spatial awareness.
