From narration to pure rhythm
Indian theater knows many forms, most of which involve dance (natya in Sanskrit), masked dance and puppets. All these forms make use of a large corpus of signs, codes and techniques.
Dance can also be performed outside the theatrical context. It still represents a story or scene, like a stylized mime. This kind is called nretya in Sanskrit. Natya and nretya are narrative forms. They are very descriptive but the aim isn't to copy what they represent. There is no realistic portrait, only the essence of characters are shown in a concrete way, using codes, symbols and stereotypes. The dancer represents a human, animal, divine or chthonian figure.
There is a more abstract form of dance (nretta in Sanskrit), even more removed from the theatrical context. Here, postures and gestures are important more purely in their geometrical and technical qualities. The dance still conveys symbols and meanings, there is still expression, but all are more subtle.
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