Today was an average day in India, it was boiling hot and the sun was shining bright. We all woke up, had our breakfast and headed for Kalamandalam to begin our classes. In our mohiniyattam dance classes we learned two new steps or adavus in Malayalam. The steps are very difficult and most of them require us to bend our knees very deeply and keep our backs completely straight for long periods of time, this is called arramandallam in Malayalam. We also do a great deal of academic work in addition to learning the dance. Our teachers lecture us on the history of Mohiniyattam and the meanings of the different facial expressions (nava-dressas in sanscrit), hand gestures (mudras in Malayalam and hastas in sanscrit) and movements (chuzhippus in Malayalam). The building that we practice in has a large stage and today there was a group of advanced mohiniyattam students practicing a dance for the festival. They were all very skilled and simultaneously executed every step perfectly without missing a beat. It was great to see the dance performed by such specialists. When done correctly it is truly a graceful and ladylike art form that I think embodies the mentality of the women of Kerala.
-Camille
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