ARANTEGRAM
The word ‘Arangetram’ is from the Tamil language and means ‘ascending the stage’ by a dancer. It is the debut on-stage performance of a disciple who completes the training in Bharatnatyam and is now eligible to perform for an audience. The disciple performs a full ‘Maargam’, the repertoire set, of a variety of dances, for one and a half hours. It is, what we know as, a graduation ceremony for Indian classical dancers, and is a significant event where close friends and family and other members of the artiste community are invited. A live orchestra performs with the dancer – a mridangam player, a singer, a violinist, a flutist, sometimes a veena player, and the teacher to do the ‘Nattuvangam’ or the rhythmic direction. Performing an Arangetram is an old tradition that marks the pathway for a dancer to perform alone or be able to train other dancers.