Mohiniyattam Dance- Kerala

Mohiniyattam a dance form has its origin in Kerala. It was originally called as Dasiyattam. The term Mohiniattam comes from the words "Mohini" meaning a woman who enchant onlookers and Aattam meaning graceful and sensuous body movements. The word Mohiniattam literally means dance of the enchantress. It is a classical dance that adopts its mean between the two parallel streams of classical dances Bharatanaatyam and kathakali. Originated as the temple dance performed by Devadasis, it portrays feminine love in its myriads form.

Mohiniaattam essentially is a solo dance form performed by females. However, there have been instances of three or more girls jointly performing nritta or pure dance items. The costume includes white sari embroidered with bright golden brocade. The dance follows the classical text of Hastha Lakshanadeepika, which has elaborate description of Mudras. Mohiniyattam gives more importance to gesture and facial acting. The accompaniments for Mohiniyattam are Vocal, Veena, Venu, Maddalam and Idakka. Other instruments are also not unusual.