Indian dances

You mention the word dance conjures images of Nataraja - Lord of Dance - as the Indian god Shiva is portrayed

Apart from Shiva himself Ganesha and Srikrishna associated with dance and music. India has many classical dance styles. The oldest text dealing with aesthetics covering various art forms including dance is Natyashastra which is authored by Bharatamuni.

All the Indian classical dance styles i.e. Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Odissi, Mohiniattam, Kathakali, Manipuri, etc., are derived from Natyashastra. Some of these dance styles have evolved from folk dances and are intimately linked with the art of storytelling. Most of these stories are drawn from our epics as the Ramayana and Mahabharata, tales from collections as Panchatantra, Hitopadesha, Katha Sarit Sagara, etc., also from the subject matter of these dance styles. In reality, Kathak and Kathakali from U.P. and Kerala, respectively, derive their names from the word Katha, which in Sanskrit means a story. As the story is told through dance, these dance styles can actually be called dance-dramas, the only difference is the lack of dialogue. The Charkul dance-drama in Central India is based on a story generally from the Indian epic the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Similar traditions of dance-dramas are prevalent in other parts of India for. In Maharashtra, you Dashavatara, in Karnataka you have the Yakshagana The Kathak dance of northern India and kthakali dance of Kerala also emerged as dance dramas and derive their names from the Sanskrit work 'Katha' which means a story. The story is getting told solely through actions and hence an extensive pattern of facial expressions (Mudra), movement of hands (Hasta) and the simulation of various moods such as anger (Krodha), envy (Matsara), greed (Lobha), lust (Kama), ego (Mada), etc., have been developed. mastery of perfect expression of these feelings by subtle movements of lips and eyes forms the root of all classical Indian dance styles.

In reality, a combination of the three grades, ie. expression, rhyme and rhythm, i.e. Bhava, Raga and Tala go into determining a BHA-Ra-Ta, which is used as the name of a dance style that is. Bharata Natyam. The integration of Indian classical dance with the physical exercises of yoga and breath control of "Pranayam" has perfected the dance styles. Yoga especially had given dance styles an excellent footwork which is called Padanyasa and Padalalitya. Another feature of these dance styles is that they are integrated with theology and worship.

Traditionally these dances were visited by the temples. During festivals and other religious occasions, these dances were performed in the temple premises in order to appease the deity. Thus, the dance came to combine both art and worship. Even today every recital of Indian classical dance begins with an activation to the Nataraja or Nateshwara god of dance. In Indian folklore and legend, God Dance itself proved to be a dancer in a form called the Tandava. This has also been portrayed in statues and rock carvings in temples like Khajuraho and Konark in Northern India, and Chidambaram, Madurai, Rameshwaram, etc. in the south.

Indian dances have also evolved styles based on Tandava like Urdhra Tandava, Sandhya Tandava, etc. Indian classical dance found its way outside India, especially to countries in Southeast Asia. The dance styles in Thailand, Indonesia, Burma, etc., have so heavily borrowed from Indian classical dance traditions, as a casual observer, there seems to be almost no difference between the two. While Western dance has not directly borrowed anything from Indian classical dance, has borrowed from Indian folk dance through one of the gypsies.