Components of Dance – Class 9 Arts Chapter 10 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 9ArtsChapter 10NCERT book: Madhurima - Arts Class 9

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 10 of the NCERT Class 9 Arts book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

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Chapter 10: Components of Dance (Dance)

Introduction

The Dance section of Madhurima opens with a verse from the Nāṭyaśhāstra (Chapter 6, 38):

Āṅgiko vāchikas tadvad āhāryaḥ sāttvikastathā | Chaturdhābhinayo hyeṣhaḥ …

Meaning: Abhinaya is four-fold — āṅgika (body gestures), vāchika (speech/vocals), āhārya (costumes and make-up) and sāttvika (mental states/emotions).

The chapter compares dance to the Ganga — one of India's most ancient rivers, yet always fresh and free-flowing. The movement vocabulary you have learnt so far is like an ancient river of knowledge that is refreshed every time you practise. That is why dance (nṛitya) is called 'Nitya Nūtana aur Purātana' — old, yet always able to bring newness. The elements of dance shown in the book are: discover joy, express and explore, align your body and mind, create and choreograph, and nurture your spirit and culture.

"Where there is a body, there is dance. Dance begins not with perfection, but with sensitivity to the body."

Key Ideas

1. What constitutes a dance movement?

For dancers, the body is the medium through which movement comes alive.

Alignment, balance and graceful control shape the strength and clarity of every movement.

Proper posture is the foundation of technique and prevents injuries; warming up prepares muscles and joints.

In Indian dance, awareness is deepened through harmony between breath and body, similar to yoga. A well-aligned body allows a free flow of energy, improving endurance, stamina and emotional expression.

2. Sauṣhṭhava, rekhā and rūpa

Sauṣhṭhava — the poised stance of a dancer: feet together, weight even on both feet, hands on the waist, torso upright and lifted, ears–shoulders–waist aligned along an imagined central meridian line; erect yet relaxed, ready to move with control and grace.

Rekhā — the linear or curved forms (curve, diagonal, quadrangle, arc) created by coordinating body parts.

Rūpa — the dancer's disposition: bright, expressive eyes and a pleasant face reflecting joy or another emotion.

Together, sauṣhṭhava, rekhā and rūpa make movement balanced, expressive and confident.

3. Revisiting the basics

Recall sthāna (postures), chārī and gati (dynamic movements of the lower limbs), utplavana and bhramarī (jumps and spins) from Bansuri and Kriti, and the karaṇa from Grade 8.

Tāla (rhythm) and laya (tempo) go hand in hand — like your heartbeat, which speeds up when you run and slows when you sleep.

Indian dances use rhythmic cycles of 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9 beats (and their combinations), and three basic tempos: slow, medium and fast.

Moving from one shape to another is called a transition — slow, swift, sharp or gentle depending on the intended mood.

4. Nṛitta and nṛitya (from the Abhinaya-darpaṇam)

Nṛitta — non-narrative, pure dance movement; an expression of joy without conveying meaning.

Nṛitya — dance that narrates or expresses a story/meaning; a blend of nṛitta with abhinaya.

In some dances the two are fully merged with no visible demarcation.

5. Chaturvidha Abhinaya — the four forms of expressive communication

Abhinaya carries emotion to the audience and creates aesthetic enjoyment, or rasa.

Āṅgika (the body): e.g. two Odissi dancers depicting the severed head of Goddess Chhinnamastā; The Boat Man (Nabik) in Seraikela Chhau, Jharkhand, where the stance shows rowing. Gambhir Singh Mura (1930–2002, Padma Shri) taught Purulia Chhau (a UNESCO-recognised masked dance-drama of West Bengal) and built its vocabulary from indigenous and animal movements. Mayurbhanj Chhau uses no mask; Seraikella and Purulia Chhau use masks.

Vāchika (verbal elements): spoken or sung words, poetry, music and rhythmic syllables. The Mahārīs of Shree Jagannatha Temple (Odisha) and temple dancers of Somnath (Gujarat) and Brihadeeswara (Tamil Nadu) sang as they danced; in the Sāvan Jhūlā festival in Ayodhya, kathākārs narrate Purāṇic stories through live singing and dancing. Mylapore Gouri Amma (1892–1971) and archival Sadir artists are shown singing live while dancing.

Āhārya (appearance): costumes, jewellery, make-up and props. Kolī dance of Maharashtra's fisherfolk mimes rowing and casting nets with oars and nets (presented at the first Republic Day Parade, 26 January 1950); Javārā-nṛitya (Madhya Pradesh) — women balance pots of millet shoots; Pulikaḻi (Kerala's Tiger Dance) — body paint and tiger mask; pioneer Chathunni Asan took part in the Onam Pulikaḻi at Thrissur for 60 years. Kathakali has elaborate make-up with different face colours and headgear; the white make-up accessory is made from a rice mixture. Astad Deboo (Padma Shri), a pioneer of Indian contemporary dance, used masks and stilts.

Sāttvika (inner emotion): from sattva — purity and harmony. An immersive enactment in which a concentrated mind projects genuine, heartfelt feeling that the audience also feels.

6. Maestros of expression (Sāttvika)

Ranjana Jhaveri (Manipuri) — Rādhā in bliss; she and her sisters were the first dancers from outside Manipur to learn Manipuri and take it to world audiences.

Saroja Vaidyanathan (Bharatanatyam, Padma Bhushan) — 'anger'; known for innovative choreographies.

Jatin Goswami (Sattriya, Padma Bhushan) — brought Sattriya out of the sattrās of Assam onto the modern stage.

Kanak Rele (Mohiniyattam, Padma Bhushan) — 'pain' and 'fear'; also an academician, scholar, educator and lawyer.

Kelucharan Mohapatra (Odissi) — 'joy'; revived Odissi; first person from Odisha to receive the Padma Vibhushan.

Bipin Singh (Manipuri) — serenity; choreographer, teacher and scholar who popularised Manipuri.

7. Dance in cinema

Films such as Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje, Mughal-e-Azam, Pakeezah, Thillana Mohanambal, Sankarabharanam and the 1957 Indo-Soviet film Pardesi feature Indian dance. Recent examples: Kathak in Devdas, Ghoomar in Padmavat, Garba in Hellaro, Lāvaṇī in Natarang. Uday Shankar made the first dance film, **Kalpana (1948). Kumari Kamala** starred in Konjum Salangai (1962), the first Technicolour Tamil film, with Bharatanatyam as its theme.

Activities

10.1 Explore geometry through your body — practise sauṣhṭhava, then walk, turn and jump while holding it.

10.2 Visual composition — create rekhā (curve, diagonal, quadrangle, arc) and add rūpa.

10.3 Combine and connect — in groups of four, link five shapes with transitions, choose a mood, a rhythmic cycle (3, 4, 5, 7 or 9) and a tempo, then present.

10.4 Observe a performance — start a dance journal: song, rhythm, tempo, āṅgika (hand gestures!), emotion, costume and region.

10.5 Cinematic dance — watch a film dance sequence and link it to an Indian dance form.

Key Terms

Sauṣhṭhava — poised, aligned stance (संतुलित मुद्रा)

Rekhā — lines/shapes made by the body (रेखा)

Rūpa — disposition/expression (रूप)

Tāla — rhythm (ताल)

Laya — tempo (लय)

Nṛitta — pure dance (नृत्त)

Nṛitya — expressive/narrative dance (नृत्य)

Abhinaya — expressive communication (अभिनय)

Āṅgika — through the body (आंगिक)

Vāchika — through words/song (वाचिक)

Āhārya — through costume, make-up, props (आहार्य)

Sāttvika — through inner emotion (सात्त्विक)

Rasa — aesthetic enjoyment (रस)

Transition — linking one shape to the next (संक्रमण)

Connect to Your Life

Notice how your posture changes your mood, how your heartbeat keeps its own tāla, and how a film song mixes dance traditions you now recognise.

Common Mistakes

Thinking vāchika is part of body alignment — alignment is sauṣhṭhava, rekhā and rūpa; vāchika is a type of abhinaya.

Mixing up nṛitta (pure, no meaning) and nṛitya (tells a story).

Treating āhārya as only costume — make-up, jewellery and props are also āhārya.

Believing all Chhau uses masks — Mayurbhanj Chhau does not.

Let's Reflect

Which elements are not needed for body alignment? (Hint: vāchika is an abhinaya, not alignment.)

Explain nṛitta and nṛitya, sauṣhṭhava, or tāla and laya in your own words.

Match each legend to a dance form using the maestros listed above.

💡 Key Learning Points

✓Explain sauṣhṭhava, rekhā and rūpa as the basis of aligned, expressive movement.
✓Use tāla (rhythm cycles of 3, 4, 5, 7, 9) and laya (slow, medium, fast) with smooth transitions.
✓Distinguish nṛitta (pure dance) from nṛitya (expressive/narrative dance).
✓Describe the four abhinayas — āṅgika, vāchika, āhārya, sāttvika — with Indian examples.
✓Recognise dance maestros and the presence of Indian dance in cinema.

👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

→Begin with a breathing-and-alignment warm-up before teaching sauṣhṭhava.
→Use a mirror or partner-check to spot the 'improper' postures shown in Figs 10.5–10.6.
→Let groups draw rekhā shapes on paper first, then form them with their bodies.
→Clap out 3-, 4-, 5-, 7- and 9-beat cycles and have students move to each at three tempos.
→Show short clips (Chhau, Kolī, Pulikaḻi, Kathakali) and ask which abhinaya dominates.
→Start the dance journal in Activity 10.4 and review entries every week.
→Screen one classic and one recent film dance and discuss the tradition behind it.

📋 Assessment Questions

Can the student hold and move in sauṣhṭhava correctly?
Can the student explain nṛitta vs nṛitya with an example?
Can the student classify examples into the four abhinayas?
Can the student link at least five maestros to their dance forms?
Does the journal entry cover rhythm, tempo, āṅgika, costume and emotion?

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