Bharatanatyam is a classical dance from tamil nadu in south india, codified in temple worship and re-emerging in the 20th century as a concert form.
Bharatanatyam is the oldest continuously practised classical dance form of India, originating in the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu and traditionally performed by hereditary devadasi dancers as part of temple ritual. The form was codified in the ancient Sanskrit treatise 'Natyashastra' attributed to the sage Bharata. In the early 20th century, Rukmini Devi Arundale and the dancer Balasaraswati restructured bharatanatyam for the concert stage, giving it its modern recital format: the 'margam', a sequence of items from invocation through pure dance to expressive narrative and concluding piece. The vocabulary combines 'nritta' (pure rhythmic dance), 'nritya' (expressive mime through codified hand gestures called 'mudras' and facial 'rasas'), and 'natya' (narrative drama). The dancer's geometry is grounded — wide stance, bent knees, parallel arms — and intensely sculptural; the ankle bells, the rhythmic syllables called 'bols', and the carnatic vocal accompaniment are integral. Bharatanatyam is now practised globally by the Indian diaspora and by non-Indian students alike.