Perceived Aspects of Comfortable and Composed Bharatanatyam Poses and its Phenomenological Benefits Among Experienced Bharatanatyam Dancers

Abstract

This study focuses on exploring and identifying Perceived aspects of Comfortable and Composed Bharatanatyam Poses and its Phenomenological benefits among Experienced Bharatanatyam Dancers. There are three objectives that has been scrutinized in this study. The first objective is to find out the most commonly occurring type of poses. The second objective focuses on identifying the most commonly occurring feet gesture and the third objective focuses on the aspects of the poses that makes the pose comfortable and composed for the participants which also assesses the impact of live music. This study was initiated by forming a relationship between Yoga and Bharatanatyam from the existing literature. The method used to obtain data was through Qualitative research method using semi-structured interview and direct observation on sixteen participants, all of whom had over ten years of experience in the field of Bharatanatyam. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyse the obtained data. The results show us that the most commonly occurring poses were the Eka Pada poses (One legged poses) and the most commonly occurring feet gesture were swastika and the Kunchita Pada. The phenomenological experiences have been elaborately discussed in this study. With further tests and exploration, the results of this study may be of help in the field of Dance Movement Therapy (DMT).