Bharatnatyam has been practised for thousands of years. The art is said to have directly evolved from Lord Shiva known as Lord Nataraja (King of Dance) who is the cosmic dancer. According to 'Abhinaya Darpanam' and 'Natya Sastra', Lord Brahma gave the Natyaveda or the science of dance to Sage Bharata. Bharata presented the art form with a group of Gandharvas (heavenly musicians) and Asparas (heavenly dancers) in the court of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva having been reminded of his majestic performance instructed Bharata the essence of the art through his followers. Being pleased with the astute nature of Bharata, Lord Shiva instructed Lasya (graceful movements) through Goddess Parvati. Goddess Parvati also instructed the art to Usha, the daughter of the Sun-God. Usha taught this to the milk-maids of Dwaraka, who in turn taught the art to the women of Saurashtra. From there, the art pervaded the whole world.

The main purpose of dance is to evoke Rasa, which means sentiment or flavor among the audience. Abhinaya Darpanam says:

Yatho Hasthas Thatho Dhrishti
Yatho Dhrishtis Thatho Manaha
Yatho Manas Thatho Bhavaha
Yatho Bhavas Thatho Rasaha

This is a very important verse and it means:

Where the Hands go, the Eyes should follow Where the Eyes go, the Mind should follow suit Where the Mind goes, the Psychological state should follow Where the Psychological state goes, Sentiment arises.

A good dancer needs to evoke the sentiment of the audience by following the essence of this verse.

Dance is of four kinds according to sages like Bharata - Natya, Nrtta, Nrttya and Abhinaya. Natya or Nataka has some theme or story for it. This is a combination of music, dialogue rendering and rhythmic movement of the body.

Nrtta is the portion of dance which does not relate to any psychological state or Bhava. Nrttya is dance that relates to sentiment or rasa and psychological states. This dance is fit to find a place in the court of great kings.

Abhinaya is that form of dance which is rich in expressions and evokes feelings among the audience.

There is a strong association of Bharatnatyam with the temples. This form of dance that was developed in the South of India is now mainly restricted to the State of Tamil Nadu, mainly due to the fact that it received encouraging patronage from the kings reigning the area during the Chola, Pallava and Pandava period. The temples that were constructed bear strong evidence to this with their rich architecture depicting the various aspects and poses of Bharatnatyam.

The dance form was initially practiced by Devadasis (Devotees or servants of God) and was performed in the temple. It then moved to the courts of kings who nurtured and lavishly encouraged the artists. Later and in the present age, the art is practiced and taught by women /men of affluent families.

Adavus are the basic steps taught to the students. Adavus are of different kinds - Tattadavu, Natadavu, TattaMettadavu, Kattadavu, Kudittamettadavu, Maiadavu, Mandiadavu, Sarigaiadavu and many more. These lead to Jathis or Korvais( a combination of adavus set to intricate rhythmic patterns) and Theermans (effective finishing to Jathis in a sequence).

Adavus are done in the Araimandi (half sitting postures). Sitting in the proper araimandi posture is an essential feature of Bharatnatyam. Further the Adavus have to be executed with Angasudham (clarity in the bodily postures).

The students are taught the various Mudhras (hand gestures). Mudhras are a means of communication for the dancer to the audience in expressing the theme of the song and the bringing out the essence of the meaning. They are like words which form the sentence.

In addition to Mudhras the dance student will have to master the various:

Shiro beda (Movements of the head)
Drishti beda (Movements of the eyes)
Vaksha beda (Movement of the chest)
Kati beda (Movement of the waist)
Parshva beda (Movement of the side)
Pada beda (Movement of the feet) which is a very important aspect.

The dancer or the student starts and ends every session of dancing be it a class, practice session or concert with Namaskaram (obeisence). The dancer pays her / his respect to Lord Nataraja, the teacher and the audience with folded hands. She touches Mother Earth and prays for her forgiveness and asks her permission to stamp on her during the dance.

Margam is a complete course of Bharatnatyam items that are performed in a concert. This includes:

Pushpanjali ( meaning - offering respects with flowers. This is the opening piece in which the dancer offers respects to the Lord, teacher and the audience and she / he does Namaskaram)

Alaripu (which is the opening item and is made up of footwork and uses head gestures and eye gestures)

Jathiswaram(this is a pure dance item with intricate foot work and does not involve any Abhinaya or expression of moods)

Shabdam (this involves footwork and for the first time the dancer introduces some Abhinaya)

Varnam (this is the most important piece in any recital and involves Jathi Korvais and Theermans and a theme is elaborated with Abhinaya depending upon the Varnam chosen. The Varnam normally lasts at least for half an hour).

Padams (these are songs of different composers chosen for Abhinaya. They involve very little footwork and mainly use Mudhras and facial expressions to bring out the mood in the song).

Tillana (This is the culminating pure dance item with complex rhythm patterns executed in the form of Korvais and has a short piece of Abhinaya)

Managalam (the dancer ends the recital with Managalam- meaning an auspicious ending. Here, she / he does Namaskaram to conclude the recital)

This is the blossoming of the student of Bharatnatyam into a full-fledged artist when she/ he enters the stage for the first time. It normally takes 5-6 years of dedicated training and practice to come to this level. The dancer must have at least mastered one whole Margam or complete course. Rangapravesam or Arangetram is only a beginning in the dancer's career. The dancer has to master several aspects of Bharatnatyam and this takes years of dedicated practice.

Bharatnatyam is a dance form derived from the temples of South India and hence uses rich colorful costumes and jewelry. The costumes are mainly made out of pure Kancheepuram silk with dazzling jaris (gold laced borders). The jewelry used is called temple jewelry and mainly uses red stones and pearls with a dash of green and white for combination.

Bharatnatyam is strongly linked to Carnatic music. The various rhythm patterns and compositions used for dancing are drawn from Carnatic music. In order to become a full-fledged dancer / choreographer / teacher, a Bharatnatyam dancer must have a strong mastery in Carnatic music. Further, in order to gain mastery in Nattuvangam (the art of conducting Bharatnatyam recitals), a background in Carnatic music is essential. Dancers like Leela Rammohan Rao who are Carnatic Musicians as well, have a strong advantage in the world of Bharatnatyam.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              .