Where Indian classical dance comes from
Dance in India is very old. Carvings in old temples show dancers in poses we still use. The key ideas were written down in a few texts:
- Natya Shastra, said to be by the sage Bharata (about 200 BCE to 200 CE). It is a huge guide to theatre, dance and music. It explains rasa, bhava, hand gestures and the stage. A story says Brahma made a "fifth Veda" of drama that everyone could enjoy.
- Abhinaya Darpana ("mirror of expression") by Nandikeshvara. It lists hand gestures (hastas), head, eye and neck movements, and gives the qualities of a good dancer. It is used most in Bharatanatyam and Odissi.
- Abhinaya Chandrika (an Odissi text) and Hastalakshana Deepika (the base of Kathakali's 24 basic hand gestures).
Over time dance was kept alive by temple dancers (called devadasis in the south and maharis in Odisha), by storytellers (kathakars, from whom Kathak gets its name), by royal courts, and later by teachers and schools in the 20th century who brought the forms to the public stage.
The building blocks: nritta, nritya, natya, tandava, lasya
- Nritta: pure dance. Only rhythm, steps and patterns, no story. Example: a jatiswaram or a tatkar.
- Nritya: dance that shows meaning and feeling, usually to a song.
- Natya: drama. Characters, dialogue (often sung) and a full story.
- Tandava: the strong, vigorous style, linked to Shiva.
- Lasya: the soft, graceful style, linked to Parvati.
Body parts and rhythm
The body is split into anga (major parts: head, hands, chest, waist, sides, feet), pratyanga (neck, shoulders, arms, stomach, thighs, knees) and upanga (small parts: eyes, eyebrows, lips, cheeks, chin). Rhythm uses tala (the cycle of beats), matra (one beat) and laya (speed: slow, medium, fast).
Abhinaya, bhava and the nine rasas
Abhinaya means "carrying the meaning to the audience". It has four parts:
- Angika: through the body – hands, face, eyes, steps.
- Vachika: through words – the song, poetry and spoken syllables.
- Aharya: through costume, jewellery, make-up and stage setting.
- Sattvika: through true inner feeling – tears, a blush, a trembling voice.
The dancer shows a bhava (feeling). When it is shown well, the audience enjoys a rasa (mood, literally "taste"). The nine rasas (navarasa) are: shringara (love), hasya (laughter), karuna (sorrow), raudra (anger), veera (courage), bhayanaka (fear), bibhatsa (disgust), adbhuta (wonder) and shanta (peace). The Natya Shastra lists eight; shanta was added later.
The eight classical forms at a glance
- Bharatanatyam (Tamil Nadu): firm half-sit (aramandi), clear lines. The Tanjore Quartet (four brothers, early 1800s) set its order of items. Styles (bani) include Pandanallur, Thanjavur and Vazhuvur.
- Kathak (North India): fast footwork (tatkar) with ankle bells (ghungroo), spins (chakkar), and improvisation. Schools (gharanas): Lucknow (graceful expression), Jaipur (strong footwork), Banaras.
- Kathakali (Kerala): dance-drama with green and red face make-up, large crowns, stories called aattakatha and Sopana music.
- Kuchipudi (Andhra Pradesh): named after a village; mixes dance with acting and speech; in tarangam the dancer moves on the rim of a brass plate.
- Odissi (Odisha): sculpture-like poses, chauk (square stance) and tribhanga (three bends).
- Manipuri (Manipur): soft, round moves; the old Lai Haraoba festival and the Vaishnava Ras Leela; the pung drum.
- Mohiniyattam (Kerala): gentle swaying moves, full of lasya.
- Sattriya (Assam): created in the sattras (monasteries) for devotional plays.
Next to these are many folk and semi-classical forms, such as Chhau (Mayurbhanj and Seraikela styles, and the masked Purulia style), Bihu, Garba and Bhangra. Classical forms follow written rules and long training; folk forms are passed on in community festivals.
Great teachers and their work
- Rukmini Devi Arundale founded Kalakshetra in Chennai (1936) and brought Bharatanatyam to the public stage.
- T. Balasaraswati was famed for deep abhinaya in Bharatanatyam.
- Meenakshisundaram Pillai was a great teacher of the Pandanallur style.
- Kelucharan Mohapatra, Pankaj Charan Das, Deba Prasad Das rebuilt Odissi in the 1950s.
- Birju Maharaj (Lucknow gharana) was a leading Kathak master.
- Vallathol Narayana Menon started Kerala Kalamandalam (1930) for Kathakali and Mohiniyattam.
- Vempati Chinna Satyam shaped modern solo Kuchipudi; Guru Bipin Singh did the same for Manipuri.
Try it yourself
Stand in front of a mirror. Show the same line, "I see a beautiful flower", three ways: only with your hands and eyes (angika), saying it as you show it (vachika), and then with a scarf as costume (aharya). Which felt most real? That honest feeling is sattvika. In the 3D, step 5, pick each form and say one way to recognise it.
Key formulas and definitions
- Nritta = pure rhythm and movement (no story)
- Nritya = dance + feeling (bhava)
- Natya = drama (character + story)
- Abhinaya = angika + vachika + aharya + sattvika
- Bhava (shown by dancer) → rasa (felt by audience)
- Navarasa = 9 rasas
Worked examples
1. A Kathak dancer does fast footwork in teentaal with no story. Is it nritta, nritya or natya?
There is only rhythm and pattern, no meaning or story, so it is nritta.
2. In a Kathakali show the actor wears a green face and a huge crown. Which kind of abhinaya is this?
Costume and make-up are aharya abhinaya.
3. A dancer shows Yashoda scolding baby Krishna and the audience smiles with love. Name the bhava and the rasa.
The dancer shows the bhava of motherly love and gentle anger; the audience feels mostly shringara (love, here of the vatsalya kind) with a touch of hasya. The point: bhava is shown on stage, rasa is felt in the audience.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up nritta and nritya: nritta has no meaning, nritya shows feeling.
- Thinking bhava and rasa are the same: bhava is what the dancer shows, rasa is what the audience feels.
- Calling every Indian dance classical: Bhangra, Garba and Bihu are folk forms.
- Placing Mohiniyattam or Kathakali outside Kerala, or saying Odissi is from Andhra Pradesh.