💃 History of classical dance
History of classical dance in India
India’s classical dances grew from one shared foundation — the Natyashastra’s rules for movement, gesture and emotion — into regional forms shaped in temples, monasteries, courts and villages, and were rebuilt in the twentieth century by schools and gurus.
Foundations: the texts
Every classical form traces its grammar of movement, gesture and emotion to these texts.
The Natyashastra — Bharata Muni
The oldest and most authoritative text on dance and dance-drama, and the first written record to discuss every aspect of the performing arts. It describes 108 karanas — coordinated movements of hands and feet. In 2025 UNESCO added it to the Memory of the World Register.
When was it written? Two NCERT books differ
Kriti (Grade 8) dates it to the 5th century BCE — ‘more than 2500 years ago’ in Grade 7 — while Themes in Indian History I places it about 300 CE. We show both.
Eight rasas, then nine
The Natyashastra names eight rasas — beauty, laughter, sorrow, anger, courage, fear, disgust and wonder. Abhinavagupta, who lived in Kashmir in the 10th–11th century CE, wrote a commentary on it and was instrumental in adding shanta (peace) as the ninth.
Nritta, nritya and natya
Dance has three aspects — pure movement (nritta), expressive dance (nritya) and drama (natya). In the story the Abhinaya Darpana tells, Bharata Muni mastered all three, learned the vigorous tandava from Shiva’s attendants and the graceful lasya from Parvati.
Hastas and abhinaya
In the Natyashastra, hand gestures (hastamudras) decorate the dance but matter most for abhinaya — telling a story through special gestures. Two styles of acting: natya dharmi (stylised) and loka dharmi (natural).
Sangita-ratnakara — Sharangadeva
Written around the 12th century CE; one of the first texts with a chapter of its own on dance. It follows the Natyashastra’s uniform style (margi) and also describes regional variations (deshi).
Abhinaya Darpana — Nandikeshvara
Written around the same time as the Sangita-ratnakara, it was the first book exclusively on dance; many dance styles still refer to it for hastas and movement. It says the audience is ‘like a tree that fulfils your inner wishes’ (sabha kalpataru).
Timeline of classical dance
From the Natyashastra and the temple traditions of the bhakti period to the schools that rebuilt the dances in the twentieth century.
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5th century BCE – c. 300 CE
The Natyashastra
Bharata Muni’s treatise lays down rasa, abhinaya, postures (sthana), movements (chari, gati, mandala) and the 108 karanas. (The two NCERT dates are shown above.)
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From the 6th–7th century CE
Bhakti and the temple
The bhakti movement shaped the regional classical forms. Dancers became part of temple worship: the Devadasis and Tevadichhis of the south and the Maharis of Odisha served the deity, ritual dances were performed in the sattras of Assam, and the Kathakars of the north sang and enacted stories.
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10th–11th century
Abhinavagupta adds shanta rasa
In Kashmir, Abhinavagupta wrote a commentary on the Natyashastra and helped make shanta the ninth rasa — giving the navarasa.
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12th century
Dance in bronze: Nataraja
The Chola-period bronze of Shiva as Nataraja — the dancing figure perfected under the Cholas — shows a karana from the Natyashastra.
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c. 12th century
Sangita-ratnakara and Abhinaya Darpana
Sharangadeva gives dance a chapter of its own and records regional (deshi) forms; Nandikeshvara writes the first book only on dance.
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13th–17th centuries
Krishna stories enter kathak
New regional literature and folk songs about Krishna and episodes from his life also became part of kathak performances.
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Thanjavur Marathas
Bharatanatyam’s early stages
Under Serfoji II, the most notable Thanjavur Maratha ruler, modern Carnatic music took shape, as did the early stages of Bharatanatyam.
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1930
Kerala Kalamandalam
The poet Vallathol Narayana Menon, with Manakkulam Mukunda Raja, founded Kerala Kalamandalam to keep Kathakali and Kerala’s arts alive; in 1936 it moved to the banks of the Bharathapuzha at Cheruthuruthy.
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1936
Kalakshetra
Rukmini Devi Arundale (1904–1986) founded Kalakshetra, a school for the arts that teaches Bharatanatyam among them.
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After 1947
The end of royal patronage
The end of the princely states also ended royal patronage for kathak dancers and gurus; many began teaching privately.
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1954
Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy
Set up in Imphal as the premier institution for teaching Manipuri dance and music and allied arts such as Thang-Ta.
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1955
A home for kathak in Delhi
The kathak wing of the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra opened, headed by Pandit Shambhu Maharaj of the Lucknow gharana; it became the Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Kathak Kendra in 1964.
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1970s
Kathak for the big stage
After Shambhu Maharaj died in 1970, his nephew Birju Maharaj led the Kendra and adapted kathak — once staged for small gatherings in temple courtyards or mehfils — for the proscenium theatre, moving it from solo towards group performance.
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1973
Lucknow Kathak Kendra
The Uttar Pradesh government set up a state Kathak Kendra in Lucknow, with Lachhu Maharaj as founding director.
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1985
Keibul Lamjao
The Manipur Dance Academy premiered Keibul Lamjao, a dance about conserving the Sangai deer, from M. K. Binodini Devi’s script.
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1986
Padma Vibhushan for Birju Maharaj
Birju Maharaj, who had received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award at 28, was given the Padma Vibhushan.
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2008
Sattriya Kendra, Guwahati
The Sangeet Natak Akademi’s centre for Sattriya dance, music and Ankiya Bhaona theatre began work in July 2008.
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2025
Natyashastra in UNESCO’s register
UNESCO added Bharata’s Natyashastra to its Memory of the World Register.
The eight classical dances and their history
Where each comes from, and how it reached today’s stage. Steps, costumes and music are on the Art & culture page.
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Bharatanatyam
📍 Tamil NaduIts early stages took shape under Serfoji II of Thanjavur; Acharya Parvatikumar later researched and choreographed Serfoji’s Marathi compositions in Bharatanatyam.
Rukmini Devi Arundale founded Kalakshetra in 1936; the choreographer Chandralekha later blended Bharatanatyam with kalaripayattu and yoga (as in Angika).
Exponent: C. V. Chandrashekhar
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Kathak
📍 Northern India, especially Uttar Pradesh and RajasthanGrew from storytelling: the Kathakars of the north sang and enacted stories, and Krishna themes from regional literature became part of kathak.
After 1947 it moved from royal courts to institutions — the Kathak Kendra (1955/1964) under Shambhu and then Birju Maharaj, and state Kendras in Lucknow and Jaipur. Kumudini Lakhia introduced group choreography and contemporary themes.
Exponent: Sitara Devi
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Kathakali
📍 KeralaA dance-drama traditionally performed by men; the poet Vallathol founded Kerala Kalamandalam in 1930, and it still teaches both the vadakkan and thekkan styles. In modern times its gender limits have been removed.
Exponent: Kalamandalam Gopi
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Kuchipudi
📍 Andhra Pradesh and TelanganaNamed after the village of Kuchipudi, still home to traditional dance families — the Vempati, Vedantam and Bhagavatula of Pasumarthy — who have passed it down through generations.
Exponent: Vempati Chinna Satyam
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Manipuri
📍 ManipurRooted in temple ritual — Sankirtan is devotional music and dance with cymbals and drums — and in Thang-Ta, from which the Meitei say all movement comes. Taught at the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, Imphal, since 1954.
Exponent: Guru Bipin Singh
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Mohiniyattam
📍 KeralaOriginally performed only by women; in modern times the gender constraint has been removed. Kerala Kalamandalam teaches it, and the Kalamandalam style is one of its two major traditions.
Exponent: Kalamandalam Leelamma
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Odissi
📍 OdishaDerived from the Maharis — the Devadasis of Odisha, who danced inside the temple for Lord Jagannatha — and the Gotipuas, boys dressed as girls who danced for the public.
Its poses echo temple sculpture: the Konark Sun Temple is among NCERT’s examples of temples with dance in stone.
Exponent: Kelucharan Mohapatra
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Sattriya
📍 AssamFirst performed in the sattras (monasteries) of Assam, where its rituals are danced; it has definite male and female postures, purusha and prakriti pak. The Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Sattriya Kendra in Guwahati has supported it since 2008.
Gurus, founders and innovators
The people who built the schools and took the dances to new stages.
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Rukmini Devi Arundale
1904–1986Founded Kalakshetra in 1936 to give ‘the young the true spirit of Art’.
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Vallathol Narayana Menon
Poet who learned kathakali mudras as a child and founded Kerala Kalamandalam in 1930 with Manakkulam Mukunda Raja.
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Pandit Shambhu Maharaj
Lucknow-gharana guru who headed the Delhi kathak school from 1955; known for the bhava anga, he revived classical thumris and bhajans for kathak. Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, 1967.
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Birju Maharaj
Shambhu Maharaj’s nephew; led the Kathak Kendra, took kathak to the proscenium stage and to group ballets, and founded Kalashram after retiring in 1998. Padma Vibhushan, 1986.
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Kumudini Lakhia
Kathak dancer and choreographer who changed its solo format with group choreography and contemporary themes; a student of Shambhu Maharaj.
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Chandralekha
Among the earliest to transform traditional forms, combining Indian dance with yoga and kalaripayattu; productions included Angika, Lilavati and Prana.
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Acharya Parvatikumar
Choreographed dance-dramas such as Discovery of India; set Serfoji II’s Marathi compositions in Bharatanatyam and turned the Abhinaya Darpana into an audio-visual form.
How we check: every fact comes from NCERT textbooks (the Kriti arts books, Exploring Society, Themes in Indian History, An Introduction to Indian Art) or official sources (Sangeet Natak Akademi, Kalakshetra Foundation, Kerala Kalamandalam); our build fails unless its key phrases are found in the source itself. Where sources disagree, we show both.