Bharatanatyam is a Indian classic dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak AkaCdemi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism
A description of precursors of Bharatanatyam from the Natya Shastra dated around and in the ancient Tamil epic Silappatikaram dated around (171 CE), while temple sculptures of the 6th to 9th century CE suggest dance was a refined performance art by the mid-1st millennium CE Sadiraattam, which was renamed Bharatanatyam in 1932, is the oldest classical dance tradition in India.
Bharatanatyam contains different types of bani. Bani, or “tradition”, is a term used to describe the dance technique and style specific to a guru or school, often named for the village of the guru. Bharatanatyam style is noted for its fixed upper torso, bent legs, and flexed knees (Aramandi) combined with footwork, and a vocabulary of sign language based on gestures of hands, eyes, and face muscles. The dance is accompanied by music and a singer, and typically the dancer’s guru is present as the nattuvanar or director-conductor of the performance and art. The performance repertoire of Bharatanatyam, like other classical dances, includes nrita (pure dance), nritya (Conveys a meaning to the audience through hand gestures) and natya (Consists of the elements of drama).[13][14] A program of bharatanatyam usually lasts two hours without interruption and includes a specific list of procedures, all performed by one dancer, who does not leave the stage or change costume. The accompanying orchestra—composed of drums, drone, and singer—occupies the back of the stage, led by the guru, or the teacher, of the dancer.
Sadiraattam remained exclusive to Hindu temples through the 19th century. It was banned by the colonial British government in 1910,[15] but the Indian community protested against the ban and expanded its performance out
side temples in the 20th century as Bharatanatyam.Modern stage productions of Bharatanatyam have become popular throughout India and include performances that are purely dance-based on non-religious ideas and fusion themes. The Thanjavur Quartet developed the basic structure of modern Bharatanatyam by formalizing it