India offers a variety of classical dance and Bharata Natyam is one of them. Origins of this classical (शास्त्रीय – Shastriy) dance form dates back to 4th or 3rd century B.C. and find the first reference (संदर्भ – Sandarbh) in ancient Indian treatise (आलेख – Aalekh) called Natya Shastra. It is the most popular dance (नृत्य – Nrity) from India and could be seen in many popular cultures across the world.

The dance form is seen as represent the spiritual (आध्यात्मिक – Aadhyaatmik) symbolism which may represent the celebration (उत्सव – Utsav) of eternal universe by the celebration of material body. There are can be three different variety of Bharta Natyam depending whether emotions (भावना – Bhavana) and expressions (अभिव्यक्ति – Abhivyakti) are used or not.

Costumes, jewelry, music, and language play an important role (भूमिका – Bhumika) in this dance. The Costumes and jewellery are usually adopted as recommended in the ancient text. The accompanying music (संगीत – Sangeet) is in Carnatic style, while language can be Tamil, Telugu or Kannada.