Kathakali, a complex art form, is a combination of many different forms of art.  It includes dance, drama, ,literature, music (both vocal and instrumental) and plastic forms of art such as painting and sculpture.  With its distinctive style of dance and colorful costumes, a kathakali dance troop wooed the audiences during its performances in different cities of  Egypt.

                The visitors of the 9 member Kathakali dance troop was part of  the 14^th summer festival organized by Bibliotheca Alexadrina on August 1 and they performed in other cities as well, including Ismaliya & Cairo.

             “We incorporate innovations in Kathakali, We have tuned Shakesparean place into Kathakali performances.  We performed place like Othallo, Macbath, ,Hamlet and others.”  Team leaders Raju Mohan and  Abhishek said.

               Kathakali is one of the oldest forms of classical dance-drama in the world, dating back to the 17th century. It originated in the area of southwest India that is currently the State of Kerala. Kathakali performances are traditionally based on themes from Kathakali performances are traditionally based on themes from Hindu mythology, especially the two epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

In Kathakali, all the roles are perform by men.  The hallmarks ofKathakali are the use of facial edpressions and hand gestures (mudras), against a musical backdrop, to tell the story. 

       Facial expressions are so important to a Kathakali performance, make up and costumes are very elaborate and are used to transform the dancer into the character being portrayed. 

For example, green faced characters represent heroes and gods. For these characters, thick cutouts of white colored paper are also glued to the jaw and chin of the actor; eyes and eyelashes are painted black and the lips bright red. Characters with a black face are considered to be the *offbeat*; red face are evil and yellow is used to portray female characters. Facial designs, painted atop the base makeup, are used to convey additional characteristics. In addition to the elaborate make up, Kathakali dancers also don heavily pleated skirts to enlarge and distort their form.         

             The body movements and footwork are also very specific as well as vigorous. As with many other dance forms, Kathakali dancers undergo a strenuous course of training.  Its movements are like Yoga movements, but it also involves musicians, instruments and make up to create a wonderful and colorful performance. Audiences usually enjoy their colorful costumes and make up, in which they use natural stones.

             Egypt has a great culture and there are many similarities between the two countries, we are very excited to see the Piramids, the members of the troop from India said at Cairo.