Kuchipudi Dance in Andhra Pradesh

Kuchipudi, one of the art forms of the South had its origin in Andhra Pradesh. Actors sing and dance, and the style is a blend of folk and classical.Lyrics used in Kuchipudi are usually in Telugu, though Sanskrit verses are also not uncommon.

Kuchipudi is a perfect balance between "Nritta", "Nritya" and "Natya". The Nritta is a rhythmic sequence that concludes a song; the Nritya or "Sabdams" in which the rhythmic passages are followed by interpretations and Natya is a complete dance drama with storyline and characters.

It contained some very complicated items of original footwork such as tracing out an outline of a lion or an elephant wit the feet on the floor or dancing with the feet on the edges of a circular brass tray or with a water pot delicately and precariously balanced on the head.

Today Kuchipudi is considerably a different style of dance form than it originally used to be. In most of the cases it is now a solo performance done by female dancers.