Bharatanatyam - Lord Shiva's Dance

Bharatanatyam finds its origins interlocked with classical Indian dance that mimics one of the basic five elements of life. Which when performed is a hypnotizing dance that resembles a flame, to honor Lord Shiva-supreme lord of dance. Traditional dance jewelry worn during the Bharatanatyam dance is known as temple jewelry, which was originally made from gold with rubies, emeralds and pearls. Used by the Devadasi girls as they danced in the temples to honor Lord Shiva original dance.

Artisans created theses authentic masterpieces for centuries in the southern part of India. Even today people revere and covet temple jewelry for its unique beauty and craftsmanship.  Bharatanatyam temple jewelry, combine with the silk multi-functional costume, which becomes enhanced with bells that allow each foot gesture to have a voice. Which seduces and captivates the audience in a mystic trance, As the performer goes through the motions of the dance the costume flows with them. Stimulating the audiences eyes with broad colors, while using body language and hand gestures to portray the ritual dance.

Originally, temple jewelry beautified the gods and goddesses in the temples during the 9th century. Later, women of the South India adopted a liking for the jewelry, which terpsichorean use in their routine to pay respect to their heritage.

There are 10 jewelry pieces that make up the set to do a Bharatanatyam dance: Choker, Long Chain, Mattal, Nath, Bullakku, Ottiyanam, Jimikki, Bangels, Rakkodi, Chandran/Sooryan and Nethichutty. A beginner can get by with a head set, necklace, and belts.  Every piece of the Bharatanatyam performer is essential to the routine even the performers hair dressed with a Chandra (moon shaped) and Surya (sun shaped) ornaments.

The Saree skirt style or Pyjama style which have gold Zari embroidery designs on the skirt. Open when the dancer performs a special posture known as a arai mandi (half-sitting) and muzhu mandi (full sitting). Ever aspect of the beautiful performance ties together giving the audience a breathtaking display meant for a king or god.

Dance Jewelry online in India

Shopping for dance jewelry in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad or in any other cities like Mumbai, Delhi or Calcutta is becoming a bit cumbersome process lately. Many of us do not know where the shops are. Even if you know the street where all the dance accessory stores are located, you don't know which one is trust worthy ! Out of a few vacation days, you struggle to get there in time because of the traffic and distance etc...Finally when you get there the stores are crowded and you will not find your personal space to chose what you really need.

Fine, you can look at the dance jewelry carefully, select the model you need and pick and chose the best finished one because you are seeing it. Finally you are forced to take what ever is available. But for most of the stores, once buy and come out, there is no way for you go back and return it if your child or the dancer didn't like it !  You will see a big board in every store saying "All the sales are final. No returns or refund"

There is no customer friendly approach in many shops. That is when most of the customers go look for an online store. We have couple of online stores selling dance jewelry in India and abroad. The web store www.DanceJewelryOnline.com offers all types of Indian Classical dance jewelry and costumes for very reasonable price. The shipping service is fast depending upon the service you pay for.  Usually you get the jewelry with 5~6 business days.

This store has readymade classical dance costumes too. Please click here to see the variety of dresses they have. The catalog includes Bharatanatyam dance dress, kuchipudi costumes, Kathak dance dress, Odissi dance dress and Mohiniyattam dance costumes. Readymade dress is usually delivered within 4 weeks.

Bharatanatyam dance costume rental

WE ARE NO MORE RENTING THE COSTUMES. FOR CUSTOM MADE COSTUMES PLEASE VIST http://www.dancecostumesandjewelry.com/

We have introduced Bharatanatyam dance costume rentals online.  Currently we only have limited variety in our online display. There are two different types available for rent - the four piece china silk bharatanatyam costume and the six piece art silk bharatanatyam costume. The six piece set is only available for Indian sizes 32 and below. There is a deposit you need to pay after you place the order. This deposit will be returned after we receive the costumes from you after your use. We collect this deposit to make sure the costumes are received back in a good, clean condition. It is your responsibility to return the costumes clean. You may only hand wash the dress if there is some kind of stain got on the costume while its in your custody. Please DO NOT put the dress in a washer or dryer as this may damage the silk material. We don't expect you to iron the costume before you return it, but please make sure to return it clean.

There is a price difference between the two types of costumes we rent. The six piece set is expensive because it is the traditional Bharatanatyam dress and you can even use it for your child's arangettram. This is the two fan pattern. Please see the pictures below. This has a pyjama style pant, blouse, two fans, arapatta and dhavani.

Also have a look at our temple jewelry sets. Our dance jewelry sets have all the necessary ornaments for the complete make-up. We have complete imitation dance jewelry sets with belt, long chain, necklace, bangles, jimiki, nath, head-set, mattil and Rakodi for price ranging from $49.00 to $89.00