The Diploma in Bharata Natyam is a two year intensive part-time program that offers the opportunity to gain a hands on experience of learning and consolidating the foundational aspects of the artform in a University setting.
The first year of the Diploma programme is the Certificate program. Here the student is initiated into learning and mastering the building blocks of Bharata Natyam, the basic movement units or adavus. A brief history of the artform as well as basic technical aspects like hasta mudras etc. will also be covered in this year.
The second year of the Diploma program consolidates the learning of the first year and additionally the student is introduced to the preliminary items from the repertoire of Bharata Natyam such as the Alarippu, Jathiswaram and the sabdam. This introduces the student to the nuances of pure dance and abhinaya.
The Certificate program is an eight credit course with end of year assessment while the Diploma program is of 16 credits with end of year assessment as well.