This is a great session to do on a day when you feel tight or sore. It opens up your body without expecting too much of it. You can also do it before you start a warm-up or after a strength or dance session. It is a session that is safe to practice early in the morning.

The Thattadavu introduces concepts of rhythm to the beginner student through various patters of striking the floor with the foot. Do these in sequence to progressively build clarity in the articulation of the foot with the floor. Keep your hips stable and try not to move from side to side. It is ...

This Adavu has a stretching action in the leg where the foot is flexed and the heel is placed on the floor. The alignment of the hip bones is important in this. The turn-out and stability in the Araimandi position of the dancer must have developed by the time he/she starts the Naatadavu. If this ...

This Adavu has a stretching action in the leg where the foot is flexed and the heel is placed on the floor. The alignment of the hip bones is important in this. The turn-out and stability in the Araimandi position of the dancer must have developed by the time he/she starts the Naatadavu.

The se...

The third Naatadavu stretches the leg out to the front. If you are unable to keep your back straight when doing this, please refer to the flexibility section and practice the tips for forward bends and try again.

The 4th Naatadavu expects a little more stability in the body. Please practice any of the Strength sections that work on lunges and squats, to achieve a deep lunge in this Adavu.

The 5th Naatadavu is fairly easier to execute if you are clear with the 3rd and 4th Naatadavu. The bend is in the diagonal, and the length of the back must be maintained. The Swastikam introduced in the second Naatadavu is used again. So as long as there has been clarity so far, this will be an e...

If you are unable to get up from the Muzhumandi position on the beat in the 3rd speed, please revisit the leg strength exercises in the exercise section. Pay special attention to the side squats. Also practice the hip- opener exercises that are present in the flexibility section.

Pointers for Pakkadavu 1:

Watch the level of your arms. Make sure you maintain the length of your neck. Turn to the side with your head straight, without tilting. Keep your eyeballs in the centre of your eyes. When you reach to the side, do not raise the opposite elbow. maintain length.

The ...

Pointers for Pakkadavu 2:

Keep your shoulders down when stretching your arms.
Keep the height of the arm that you are looking away from. It is common to let this arm go too far back or let it drop below shoulder height.
Keep your head straight when you look to the side.
Make sure you keep you...

Pointers for Pakkadavu 3:

Keep your shoulders down when lifting your arms.
Make sure your arms do not go too far back.
Follow your arm and keep your gaze toward the wrist of the arm you are bending away from.
Make sure you keep your thighs pushing back while retaining Swastikam in your feet.
...

Pointers for Pakkadavu 4:

- Keep your shoulders down when lifting your arm.
- Make sure your arm in front of your chest doesn't cross the centre of your chest.
- Make sure you do not sit in your hip when lifting one leg. Keep the thigh pushing back on the standing leg
- do not rest your raised ...

Pointers for Kuditta Mettadavu:
Try to go down instead of hopping up each time you snatch onto your heels.
Keep dropping your tailbone and pushing your thighs back.
When you bend to the side, try not to have any form of a forward bend.

By the time you progress to the Kuditta mettadavu, your l...

The Paraval adavu moves to the side, like the Pakkadavu, but the srea covered is expansive. The articulation of the feet changes. There are many varieties in this adavu. Although Paraval serves as an umbrella classification, sometimes we call the adavus by varied names based on how the feet inter...

Paraval literally means to spread. Some schools of thought also call the Paraval adavu, the 'Pakkadavu' as it moves to the side while sliding. Some others change the name based on the way the foot articulates with the floor. A few of the types of Paraval, can be referred to as Marditam adavau, as...

Paraval literally means to spread. Some schools of thought also call the Paraval adavu, the 'Pakkadavu' as it moves to the side while sliding. Some others change the name based on the way the foot articulates with the floor. A few of the types of Paraval, can be referred to as Marditam adavau, as...

This Adavu is referred to as the "Ta tai ta ha adavu" by some people. It is also called the Yegar Thattadavu. 'Yegar' and 'Kuditta', both mean jump. There is a small jump/ snatch onto the balls of the feet and then a strike. The first series will address the basic Kuditta tattaduvu. The many vari...

Pointers for Kuditta Thattadavu:
Try to go down instead of hopping up each time you snatch onto your heels.
Keep dropping your tailbone and pushing your thighs back.
When you bend to the side, elongate your lower side, so the length of your top side and bottom side remain the same.
Do not push...

The adavus in this category span a variety of feet articulations. The slide sometime occurs on the whole bottom of the foot. Sometimes in the ball of the foot, and other times on the heel, depending on the choice of the choreographer. These adavus can also vary greatly in levels and leg positions...

'Jaaru', literally means, to slide. This is also called the Sarikal Adavu. In the RK Method, we refer to the standing series that end in Samapada as the Jaar Adavu series and the other sliding Adavus that use Muzhumandi, and Aalidam as Sarikal adavus for simplicity.

This Adavu incorporates the ...

This lecture in the Talam series introduces the basics of Rhythmic layering practiced in Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam. The music and dance work together in polyrhythmic structures in Bharatanatyam. It is important to understand this when dancing repertoire.

Please make notes when watching t...