Bharatha Natyam is a South Indian classical dance form that developed chiefly in Tamil Nadu over the past three thousand years. The name Bharatha Natyam was coined in the 1930's to represent the three major elements of dance in the three syllables of the word Bharatha - bhava (facial expression), raga (melody), and tala (rhythm). Originally, this art was known as sadi or dasiattam, and was performed in Hindu temples by female dancers called devadasis, or servants of God. Performances were a part of daily rituals and religious or festive occasions, where dance was considered to be an offering to the deities. Eventually, this dance form made its way into the royal courts, and in the 18th and 19th century Thanjavur courts, Bharatha Natyam developed into its present form. A period of decline in popularity was followed by a revival of Bharatha Natyam in the 1920's and 30's, after which it found its place on the modern stage. Bharatha Natyam is known for its rhythmic, vigorous footwork, crisp movements, sculpturesque poses and combining the energy of its Nritta (rhythmic movements) with the emotion of its Nritya (expressive movements). Bharatanatyam (Tamil: பரதநாட்டியம்) is a classical Indian dance form originating in Tamil Nadu[1][2][3][4][5], India. One of the oldest of the classical dance forms in India, it is also known as the fifth Veda. Bharatanatyam is usually accompanied by the classical music. It has its inspirations from the sculptures of the ancient temple of Chidambaram. Bharatanatyam, as the name depicts is the combination of: BHA- Bhava (Expression), RA- Raga (Music) and TA- Tala (Rhythm) Bharatanatyam is a traditional dance-form known for its grace, purity, tenderness, and sculpturesque poses. Today, it is one of the most popular and widely performed dance styles and is practiced by many dancers all over the world.[6][7][8]Bharatanatyam, according to Balasaraswati, is a variety of natya yoga that reveals the spiritual through the physical and emotional body. It is the most popular of the Indian classical dance forms in South India, and the most ancient of all the classical Indian dance styles in the entire India, which are all based on Natya Shastra, the Bible of the classical Indian dance. The term "Bharatanatyam" was used by Purandara Dasa (1484-1564). Later, Ghanam Krishnayyar's songs descirbes a devadasi as an expert at Bharata natyam. Subramania Bharathi also speaks about Bharatnatyam.Bharatanatyam has a divine origin. Devas asked Brahma to create a Veda that would be understood by the Sudras, as Kali Yuga was nearing: "When the universe was overcome by desire, greed, jealousy and anger, when people became slaves of pleasure and pain, Brahma was moved to create a form of entertainment seen and heard and understood by everybody at the same time, as people could no longer understand the mystic and ambiguous scriptures".

Bharata natyam was created "not merely for pleasure, but to embody the cosmic relationshios and expressions (bhava) for all the worlds. So this performing art follows the worlds' movements in all activities and states: work and leisure, calm and laughter, fight and wars. It will confer righteousness onto the righteous, a moral restraint for the unruly, and discipline for the those who are guided by rule. It will teach wisdom both to the ignorant and the learned. It will provide entertainment for kings, and it will console the miserable ones. Natya will express all the moods and passions of the soul. It will incorporate all kinds of the deeds: the noble, the mediocre and the mean"

Thus Brahma created the the Fifth (Panchama) Veda, or NatyaVeda, a quintessence of the main four Vedas, by combining Pathya (words) of Rigveda, Abhinaya (communicative elements of the body movements, cf. mime) of Yajurveda, geetham (music and chant) of Samaveda, and rasam (vital sentiment and emotional element) of Atharvaveda. Then Brahma handed NatyaVeda to rishi Bharata to write it down and spread it in the material world. Bharata-guided the demigods (Gandharavas and Apsaras) in performing natya, nrtta and nrtya before Shiva. Natya Shastra came to be the fundamental authority on the technique of classical Indian dances, especially Bharatanatyam and Odissi, as well as Kuchipudi and Mohiniattam. Some prefer to belive the term "Bharatnatyam" owes its name to rishi Bharata.

Bharata along with the apsaras and gandharvas performed Bharatanatyam for Shiva who asked Thandu Maharishi to develop it further into a Thandava (which only much later came to mean "masculine") style of dance, the Cosmic Dance of Shiva. Shiva imparted Lasya Natya to Parvathi who taught it on to Usha (the daughter of Banasura). Usha passed it on to the gopis of Dwarka who then taught the women of Sowrashtra.The Gods and the Goddesses, being dancers themselves, have been passing the art of the heavenly dance through many other human channels, whose aptitude, understanding, and personal idiosyncrasies naturally varied from person to person, and created a number of styles ranging from Odissi to Bharatanatyam.Bharata natyam has been undergoing a lot of change over the centuries

Bharatanatyam used to be and is still mostly performed by women dancers. The Hindu temples, especially in South India, had dancers-priestesses called devadasis . They sang and danced Dasi Attam (old version of Bharatanatyam) andplayed many musical instruments. They were well-versed in Sanskrit and other languages as they had to adapt compositions to suit the audience. The devadasi tradition gradually degraded. Initially, devadasis lead a very strict and celibate life and were not allowed to have a family. As the dance entered the royal courts, the dancers were called Rajanartakis, who performed in the royal courts and gradually became royal concubines. The British colonial rule has completely corrupted the devadasi tradition. Bharatanatyam was largely restructured about 150 years ago by the Tanjore Quartet (Chinniah, Sivanandam, Ponniah and Vadivelu). In Tamil Nadu various styles of Bharatanatyam have been practiced mostly by the Bharata natyam gurus and performers of the Isai Velalar caste. The Tanjore Quartet re-organized the core Bharatnatyam pure dance movements into a series of steps called adavus. The 4 brothers composed new music items written specifically for Bharatanatyam. They also introduced a different order of different types of items.

Later, the prominent personalities as Mangudi Dorairaja Iyer and Krishna Iyer made their significant contributions. The social status and image of Bharatanatyam was finally restored by Rukmini Devi Arundale, the founder of Kalakshetra, who started teaching a simplified, Kalakshetra style invented by her after having learnt some of the Pandanallur style of Bharatanatyam in a record 3 years' time.Bharatanatyam, although changed a lot, is still deeply rooted in Hinduism. Contemporary classical Indian dancers are both male and female. While most learn it as a hobby, very few make it their career and a lifestyle, as it is extremely demanding and complex in terms of dedication and daily practice. While most university degree courses offer the theoretical base in Bharatanatyam, there are institutions that offer certificate and diploma courses with the focus on the practical skills."Bharatanatyam, in its highest moment, is the embodiment of music in a visual form", said Balasaraswathi. The sastra's stipulated that a dedicated dancer must be equally dedicated to music. In her demonstrations of Bharata natyam abroad, Balasaraswathi emphasised the connection between dance movement and raga (tune) expression in abhinaya (mime), with the subtle expressions of gamakas (voice modulations), intonations of sruti, and the development of improvisation in niraval"

Sringara rasa (Love) was considered as the highest by the devadasis, as other emotion did not have the potential to convey the mysteries of the union of the human with the divine. Balasaraswathi's experience of dancing Bharatnatyam to many great devotional songs with no sringara lead her to realize that sringara is the fundamental emotion lending itself to infinite permutations of moods full of nuances and novelty. Sringara expresses the most intimate beauties of Bharatanatyam with all the purity of the spirit. Once considered to be an enemy of the spirit and the greatest obstacle to spiritual realization, the body itself is turned into a medium of the spiritual attainment. Bharatanatyam consists of three major aspects: Natya, Nritta and Nritya. The rhythmical and repetitive elements are called Nritta, i.e. it is dance proper The dramatic art of expression in gestures, poses and mime is called Natya. cf. Abhinaya The combination of Nritta and Natya is called Nritya.

Nritta is classified into Chari, Karana, Angahara and Mandala. Charis are 1-leg movements. Karanas are 2-leg movements. 1 Khanda is a combination of 3 Karanas. Mandalas are made up of 3-4 Khandas. Angaharas consist of 4-9 Karanas. Mandalas can also be a combination of 4-5 Angaharas. The 108 Karanas and 32 Angaharas are described in Natya Shastra. Nritta utilizes 13 Nritta Hastas (hand gestures).

The combination of repetitive body movements accompanied by hand gestures are adavus. Sets of aduvus make up a jathi. Jatis usually end in Teermana or Muktaya.The main types of Adavus are Nataduvu, Kattaduvu,Tattaduvu, Mandiaduvu, Jati,Mettaduvu, Kudittamettaduvu, Nadai, Ardi and Maiadavu. Typically we find twelve adavus in each typel. Only about 70-80 are generally practised by an average Bharatanatyam dancer. Aduvus are a later addition of Desi (folk dance) elements, and in the past few centuries gradually replaced the 108 Karanas.Bharata natyam techniques of communicating a verbal message are Abinaya, which uses mostly facial expressions and gestures. While some authentic styles, such a Melattur style, emphasise a highly expressive, spontaneous and elevated mode of abhinaya, the late Balasaraswaty tradition's abhinaya was extremely subtle and understated, while the Kalakshetra style expressions are largely theatrical. Some contemporary styles, such as the one propagated by Shobana, favour the clownish Bollywood-type expressions.

While gestures can be seen from any distance even in a large dance hall, the subtle facial expressions can only be seen from the front rows. This is the main feature that distinguishes Bharatanatyam from the western ballet dances. Thus, unless a Bharatanatyam recital is held in a small hall, a close-up, high-resolution video is the only adequate medium of presenting the Abhinaya. Bharata-natyam is an ekaharya (solo) performance: one dancer presenting various characters, regardless of their gender.

The Abinaya can be of 4 kinds. Angikabhinaya deals with communicating the meaning of the songs by moving the limbs of the body.Vachikabhinaya is verbal story-telling.Aharyabhinaya includes the use of costumes, jewellry, make-up. Satvikabhinaya is the subtle and direct communication of moods (Bhavas) by a mental contact or glance.

Lord Shiva is described in this stanza: We bow to Him, the benevolent One
Whose limbs are the universe,
Whose song and poetry are the essence of all language,
Whose is clothed in the moon and the stars