Kuchipudi Revisited

Kuchipudi, the dance, takes it name from the village of Kuchipudi in Andhra Pradesh where it originated and was developed as a male dance tradition. It had a certain vigour associated with it and depicted the unity of the male and female in one body, allowing the dancer to interpret and enact a male or a female role within the performance. Swapna Sundari, one of the renowned exponents of Kuchipudi, traces the origin, evolution and changing nuances of the dance form through interviews with her Guru Pasumarthy Seetharamaia, other acclaimed exponents and well known dance critics.