Pushpanjali, Kauthuvam, Alarippu

Arya will start her performance with a Pushpanjali - which is the offering of flowers to the divine, the teachers and elders. Pushpanjali is the combination of two words, pushpam or flower and anjali which means prayer hands.

Following the Pushpanjali she will be dancing a composition in praise of lord Ganesha. Ganesha Kauthuvam is essentially a prayer to Lord Ganesha who is the son of Parvati and Shiva, and who is the remover of obstacles. This dance is an invocation where the dancers offer prayers to Lord Ganesha and seek his blessings to make the performance a success. Lord Ganesha is described in many ways during this dance: his beautiful elephant head, curved trunk, big ears, and round body of a little boy. In a Kauthuvam, jathis, which are rhythmic syllables, are intertwined with the lyrics of the song. Thus, it is a fusion of nritta which is rhythmic footwork, and abhinaya or expressions set in Roopaka talam.

The Kauthuvam is followed by Allaripu which is essentially a rhythmic preparatory composition with movement of feet & hands, readying the dancer for the next few hours of performance and to show the mastery the dancer has of the basic steps. The Allarippu is the first song that any dancer learns after learning the basic Bharatanatyam steps.