Kuchipudi

Kuchipudi (Telugu: కూచిపూడి) is a Classical Indian dance from Andhra Pradesh, India.. Kuchipudi’ dance form got its name from the name of Kuchipudi village where the resident Brahmins practiced this traditional dance form. It originated in the seventh century.

Uma Muralikrishna, a Kuchipudi dancer performing at IIM Bangalore

Kuchipudi-nayika in lathangi posture

Quotes

• Kuchipudi is a cultural heritage of Andhra Pradesh.
  • By Dr Shobha Naidu in An Uncompromising Purist. Hyderabadbest.com. Retrieved on 15 January 2014.

• In Andhra, particularly the Bharata's Natya Sashtra had been highly developed in the medieval times, in the courts of the Kakatiyas, Reddis, Rayas and Nayudus of Warangal, Kondavidu, Vijyanagar and Racakinda. In the Kuchipudi tradition, the Bhagavatas of Andhra preserved a considerable amount of the knowledge of Bharata's Natya Sastra.
  • By Sri Ponnagi Sri Rama Appa Rao in Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters url and title must be specified (pdf). Krishnaganasabha organization. Retrieved on 16 January 2014.

• Kuchipudi started from Samskrutha roopakam and in the 13th Century, Kalaapam was started by Saint Siddhendra Yogi. The inspiration for Kalaapam, ‘Yakshaganam’ was scripted by Kandukuri Rudra Kavi named Sugreeva Vijayam, which was useful in the performance of Kuchipudi bhagavathas from which Yakshaganam was adopted.
  • In "Vedantam Ramalinga Sastry — Masterspeak". Yhe Hindu. 4 July 2013. Retrieved on 15 January 2014. 

• [That was the beginning of the 60s]. In those days, Sangeet Natak Akadem conferences deemed only four Indian styles as classical dances, and Kuchipudi was not one of them. Owing to the profusion of dance masters who were Kuchipudi trained, Kuchipudi was termed as a "filmy dance" or Koothu. However, in the 1958 Natya Kala Conference under the leadership of Banda Kanakalingeswara Rao, Vissa Appa Rao and others, Kuchipudi was just beginning to get some amount of recognition.
  • By Yamini Krishnamurthy in "Yamini Krishnamurthy: The Prima Donna of Indian classical dance:Exclusively on her Kuchipudi journey". Narthaki.com. 18 July 2010. Retrieved on 15 January 2014. 

• Kuchipudi deals mainly with religious themes and relies on the philosophy of jeevatma’s desire to merge with parmatma.
  • In "Vedantam Ramalinga Sastry — Masterspeak"

• An artiste should not live on art, they should live for art.
  • In "Vedantam Ramalinga Sastry — Masterspeak"

• Kuchipudi originated as a group performance. So when the solo form emerged, the pressure on the dancer was more as the dancer had to delineate different characters and varied moods.
  • In "Journey in dance". 23 May 2013. Retrieved on 15 january 2014. 

• It is the dance form that gives you scope to perform diametrically opposite characters at one go, as the theme progresses in the form of episodes. A single dancer can perform the entire Kurukshetra. No other dance form offers this opportunity.
  • By Dr. Shobha Naidu in "An Uncompromising Purist"

• Kuchipudi originated as a group performance. So when the solo form emerged, the pressure on the dancer was more as the dancer had to delineate different characters and varied moods.
  • In "Journey in dance". 23 May 2013. Retrieved on 15 january 2014. 

Sahiti Ravali, a Kuchipudi Dancer from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh

• Kuchipudi there is no dancer, no actor, no musician who is exclusively that. The dancer is the actor; the actor is the musician is the dancer. All put together. It's story-telling. The whole point of it is the style developed with a group of boys taken on to act and.tell the stories. In fact, it was not just dance alone. In India, dance and drama have never been separate. And the dramatic element in Kuchipudi is very important. That is the difference between Kuchipudi and Bharata Natyam — that, in Kuchipudi, the dancer is the story-teller. If a particular point can be put across more by mime, then that is the element to be used.
  • Mallika Sarabhai Interview : Mallika Sarabhai (pdf). Sruti.com. Retrieved on 15 January 2013.

• That was the beginning of the 60s. In those days, Sangeet Natak Akademi conferences deemed only four Indian styles as classical dances, and Kuchipudi was not one of them. Owing to the profusion of dance masters who were Kuchipudi trained, Kuchipudi was termed as a "filmy dance" or Koothu. However, in the 1958 Natya Kala Conference under the leadership of Banda Kanakalingeswara Rao, Vissa Appa Rao and others, Kuchipudi was just beginning to get some amount of recognition.
  • By Yamini Krishnamurthy in "Yamini Krishnamurthy: The Prima Donna of Indian classical dance:Exclusively on her Kuchipudi journey".

• Kuchipudi's fundamental pillar has always been the quicksilver change of pace, the spontaneity and the sparkling dance.
  • In "Yamini Krishnamurthy: The Prima Donna of Indian classical dance:Exclusively on her Kuchipudi journey"

• Tillana in Kuchipudi is pure nritta. There are many people who think Kuchipudi is pure gymnastics, it consists entirely of the plate dance.
  • Mallika Sarabhai in "Interview : Mallika Sarabhai"