Glossary
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| Term | Meaning |
| Abhinaya | Expression in Indian dance and theatre: angika (body), vachika (voice), aharya (costume), sattvika (inner state) |
| Adavu | A basic unit of footwork and posture in Bharatanatyam |
| Aesthetics | The study of beauty, art, and sensory experience |
| Balance | An arrangement of visual weight in a work |
| Bhava | The emotional state portrayed in Indian aesthetic theory |
| Catharsis | Emotional release or clarification experienced through drama |
| Choreography | The art of creating dance |
| Composition | The arrangement of elements in a work |
| Dynamics | Loudness and softness in music |
| Geta bera | The Kandyan drum |
| Hasta (mudra) | A hand gesture in Indian dance |
| Harmony | Notes sounded together |
| Hue | The name of a color |
| Kolam | A masked dance-drama of the Sri Lankan low country |
| Mimesis | Imitation of life in art |
| Mise-en-scene | Everything within the frame of a film or the stage picture |
| Nadagama | A sung folk drama with South Indian roots |
| Nritta, nritya, natya | Pure dance, expressive dance, and dramatic presentation |
| Raga | A melodic framework in Indian music |
| Rasa | Aesthetic flavor; the emotion savored by the audience |
| Rhythm | The pattern of long and short sounds or movements |
| Sokari | A folk drama dedicated to the goddess Pattini |
| Sublime | An experience of awe before vastness or power |
| Swara | A note in Indian music |
| Tala | A rhythmic cycle in Indian music |
| Texture | Surface quality in art; layers of sound in music |
| Timbre | The tone color of a sound |
| Ves | The Kandyan dancer's traditional costume and a category of Kandyan dance |
| Vannam | A type of Kandyan dance, traditionally eighteen in number |
| Value | The lightness or darkness of a color |