BHARATA NATIYAM AT RIJEKA, CROATIA DURING RATHA YATRA 6TH JUNE, 2015

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SINGING AND DANCING ARE INTEGRAL TO ISKCON. BHARATHANATYAM - CLASSICAL DANCE OF INDIA The earliest known treatise on the performing arts is the Sanskrit classic "Natya Shastra," written by the sage Bharata Muni. It is effectively a handbook for dance and theatre and details the techniques of dramatic expression. Early artistic performances were almost entirely associated with religion, and the first theatres were temples, where artists danced for the pleasure of deities. Later, during the time of the Moghul and British Empires, dance moved to the royal courts and became more associated with entertainment. However, many contemporary dances still accommodate spiritual themes derived from the Epics, Puranas, and other Vedic texts. Bharatanatyam is a form of Indian classical dance that originated in southern India in the state of Tamil Nadu. It started as a temple dance tradition called Dasiyattam (the dance of the maid-servants) 2000 years ago and is perhaps the most advanced and evolved dance form of all the classical Indian dances. The name Bharatanatyam is a simple derivation from the four most important aspects of dance (in Sanskrit). These are: Bha from Bhava meaning emotion, Ra from Raaga meaning music or melody, Ta from Taala meaning rhythm and Natyam meaning dance. Thus Bharatanatyam is the dance that encompasses music, rhythm and expressional dance or Abhinaya and strictly adheres to the Natyashastra (the scripture of classical Indian dance). This dance style is characterised by a linear form of the body without any pronounced movement of the upper body and linear spatial patterns, which make the dance form extremely dynamic and powerful. It is a graceful dance using facial expressions and hand gestures (mudras). --------------------- WHAT IS ISKCON? The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava God-Conscious organisation. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada who is highly revered by the devotees. Its core beliefs are based on select traditional Vedic scriptures, particularly the Bhagavad-Gītā and the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. ISKCON says is a direct descendant of Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. The appearance of the movement and its culture come from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, which has had adherents in India since the late 15th century and Western converts since the early 1900s in America, and in England in the 1930s. ISKCON was formed to spread the practice of bhakti yoga, in which those involved (bhaktas) dedicate their thoughts and actions towards pleasing the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna. ISKCON today is a worldwide confederation of more than 550 centres, including 60 farm communities, some aiming for self-sufficiency, 50 schools, and 90 restaurants. In recent decades the most rapid expansions in membership have been within Eastern Europe (especially since the collapse of the Soviet Union) and India.