Laya
The tempo of Indian music and dance, and a dancer's inner sense of steady time.
Also: layam, tempo
Laya is the speed at which the beats of a tala pass. There are three broad speeds: slow, medium and fast, called vilambit, madhya and drut in the north. A dancer often performs the same pattern at single, double and four times the speed while the underlying cycle stays the same. Laya also means the feel for time itself. To say a dancer has good laya is high praise. It means the dancer never rushes or drags, however complex the rhythm.