Visual & Performing Arts · 7th Grade · Body Language: Dance and Movement · Weeks 10-18

Asian Dance Forms: Bharatanatyam and Dragon Dance

Students will explore the storytelling and symbolic elements in traditional Asian dance forms such as Bharatanatyam and Dragon Dance.

• Common Core State Standards
• NCAS: Connecting DA.Cn11.1.7
• NCAS: Responding DA.Re9.1.7

About This Topic

The term 'Asian dance' encompasses thousands of distinct traditions across the world's most diverse continent. Two forms that offer rich comparative study are Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance from Tamil Nadu, and the Dragon Dance, a traditional Chinese performance most visible during Lunar New Year celebrations. Both use the body to tell stories and express spiritual or communal meanings, but through very different frameworks and for very different audiences.

Bharatanatyam is one of the oldest living classical dance forms, with roots in Tamil Nadu's temple traditions dating back over 2,000 years. Its vocabulary is highly codified: 108 karanas (combined hand, body, and foot positions) are described in the ancient Sanskrit treatise Natya Shastra. Mudras (hand gestures) carry precise narrative meanings, allowing a trained dancer to tell complex stories about deities, nature, and human emotion without spoken words. The Dragon Dance, by contrast, is a collective performance requiring a team to coordinate movement under a long decorated dragon figure, believed to bring good luck, drive away evil spirits, and invite community prosperity.

Active learning is particularly important for respectful engagement with cultures outside students' own backgrounds. When students try to decode a mudra's meaning before being told, or attempt the coordination required in a group dragon movement exercise, they move from spectator to participant and build the empathy that analysis alone cannot develop.

Key Questions

1. Analyze how specific hand gestures (mudras) in Bharatanatyam convey narrative and emotion.
2. Explain the symbolic meaning and cultural significance of the Dragon Dance.
3. Compare the role of costume and props in Asian dance traditions to other global forms.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze how specific mudras in Bharatanatyam visually communicate narrative elements and emotional states.
• Explain the cultural significance and symbolic representations of the Dragon Dance in Chinese tradition.
• Compare and contrast the use of costume and props in Bharatanatyam and Dragon Dance with other global dance forms.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the storytelling techniques employed in Bharatanatyam through gesture and movement.
• Identify the communal and spiritual purposes of the Dragon Dance performance.

Before You Start

Elements of Dance: Space, Time, Energy

Why: Students need a foundational understanding of how dancers use space, time, and energy to effectively analyze the specific techniques in Bharatanatyam and the Dragon Dance.

Introduction to Cultural Storytelling

Why: Prior exposure to how different cultures use various mediums to tell stories will help students better understand the narrative functions of these Asian dance forms.

Key Vocabulary

Mudras	Symbolic hand gestures used in Indian classical dance, particularly Bharatanatyam, to convey specific meanings, emotions, or characters.
Dragon Dance	A traditional Chinese dance performed during festivals and celebrations, featuring a long, flexible dragon figure manipulated by a team of dancers to symbolize good fortune and ward off evil.
Natya Shastra	An ancient Indian treatise on the performing arts, including dance, drama, and music, which codifies many aspects of classical Indian dance forms like Bharatanatyam.
Karanas	The 108 basic dance postures or movements described in the Natya Shastra, combining hand, foot, and body positions in Bharatanatyam.
Lunar New Year	The annual celebration marking the beginning of the new year in the lunisolar calendar, widely observed in East and Southeast Asian cultures, often featuring the Dragon Dance.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Asian dance is one unified tradition.

What to Teach Instead

Asia contains dozens of distinct classical, folk, and ceremonial dance traditions with different techniques, purposes, spiritual frameworks, and histories. Even comparing just Bharatanatyam and Dragon Dance reveals how different two Asian traditions can be in form, function, and meaning. Survey activities that examine multiple regional examples build this understanding.

Common Misconception

Mudras in Bharatanatyam are decorative hand positions chosen for visual appeal.

What to Teach Instead

Each mudra carries a specific meaning derived from a codified lexicon described in ancient texts. A trained Bharatanatyam audience reads the gestures as a visual language. When students try to 'read' a mudra without being given its meaning, they often realize how much information a knowledgeable audience receives that a casual viewer misses entirely.

Common Misconception

The Dragon Dance is purely festive with no deeper meaning.

What to Teach Instead

Dragon dances have roots in rain prayers, harvest rituals, and community protection from illness and evil spirits. The dragon figure represents power, wisdom, and good fortune in Chinese cosmology. Contextual activities that trace the tradition's ceremonial origins help students distinguish the ritual foundations from their contemporary celebratory expressions.

Active Learning Ideas

Gallery Walk: Mudra Meaning Map

Provide printed cards showing 6-8 basic Bharatanatyam mudras with their Sanskrit names but not their meanings. Students examine each card and write their interpretation of what the gesture communicates before the class reveals actual meanings, comparing their intuitions to the codified vocabulary.

25 min·Individual

Think-Pair-Share: Costume and Symbolism

Show side-by-side images of a Bharatanatyam dancer in full costume (ankle bells, kohl eye makeup, layered clothing in specific colors) and a Dragon Dance team with the dragon prop. Students discuss with a partner what each visual element might symbolize, then share reasoning with the class before comparing to research findings.

20 min·Pairs

Inquiry Circle: Reading a Bharatanatyam Segment

Small groups watch the same three-minute Bharatanatyam performance clip, each assigned a different analytical lens: hand gestures, footwork and rhythm, facial expression, or narrative theme. Groups report their observations and the class assembles a composite analysis of what the dancer was communicating.

35 min·Small Groups

Whole Class Discussion: Sacred to Public Stage

Present the history of how the Dragon Dance moved from rain rituals and harvest ceremonies to Lunar New Year parades to tourist performances. Students discuss: what changes about a tradition's meaning when its audience changes? Is this loss, adaptation, or both?

15 min·Whole Class

Real-World Connections

• Choreographers and dance historians study traditional forms like Bharatanatyam to understand the evolution of movement vocabulary and narrative structures, influencing contemporary dance creations.
• Cultural festival organizers and community leaders in Chinatowns worldwide utilize the Dragon Dance as a central performance element to celebrate heritage, attract visitors, and foster community spirit during Lunar New Year.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

Provide students with images of 2-3 common Bharatanatyam mudras. Ask them to write down what emotion or story element each mudra might represent, based on class discussions. Then, ask them to write one sentence about the purpose of the Dragon Dance.

Discussion Prompt

Facilitate a class discussion using the prompt: 'How do the storytelling methods in Bharatanatyam (using mudras) and the Dragon Dance (group coordination and symbolism) differ from or resemble storytelling in Western ballet or modern dance?' Encourage students to cite specific examples.

Quick Check

Display a short video clip of a Bharatanatyam performance and a Dragon Dance. Ask students to jot down two observations about the costumes and props used in each, and one observation about the role of the dancers' bodies in conveying meaning for each dance form.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are mudras and how do they work in Bharatanatyam?

Mudras are codified hand gestures that function as a visual language within Bharatanatyam's performance vocabulary. Single-hand gestures (asamyuta hasta) and double-hand gestures (samyuta hasta) each have specific names and meanings, allowing a dancer to represent animals, emotions, deities, and narrative events. A trained audience reads them in real time, much as a reader processes text.

What is the cultural significance of the Dragon Dance?

The Dragon Dance originates in Chinese folk tradition and is associated with bringing good luck, driving away evil spirits, and ensuring community prosperity. The dragon is among the most auspicious symbols in Chinese culture, representing power, strength, and good fortune. The length of the dragon and the skill of its handlers traditionally reflect community pride and cooperative strength.

How old is Bharatanatyam as a dance form?

Bharatanatyam's roots trace back over 2,000 years to temple dance traditions in Tamil Nadu, India. Its technical vocabulary is documented in the Natya Shastra, an ancient Sanskrit treatise on performing arts. The form was nearly suppressed under British colonial rule but was revived and re-codified by teachers including Rukmini Devi Arundale in the early 20th century.

What active learning activities help students understand Asian dance forms respectfully?

Mudra analysis where students try to decode gesture meanings before being given the answer is highly effective for building respect for Bharatanatyam's precision. For the Dragon Dance, coordination challenges using a long rope or linked fabric help students feel the physical teamwork required. Both approaches build understanding through embodied experience rather than passive observation, which is essential for culturally respectful engagement.