Bharata-Natyam is one of the most important and perfect among the eight Indian classical styles of dance. It is practised throughout the South of India, and particularly in the Tanjavur region. Bharata- Natyam is the most faithful style in relation to the rules enunciated in the "Natya Shastra", which is a treatise about drama, dance and music written around 2'000 years ago by the sage Bharata Muni. One has only to observe the thousands of sculptures of the temples to note the similitude of the attitudes of the dancers in stone and that of dances of today. Indian dance is above all religious and, in the past, was performed strictly in the temples by the "devadasis", female dancers who were attached to the temple hereditarily and dedicated to the God since childhood. Bharata-Natyam has disappeared from the temples and is now performed on the stage. In the past a dance offering was a part of the daily ritual and was the most important act of devotion, as is explained in the Indian sacred books : "no prayer, no offering is more agreeable to God".

Today Bharata Natyam is one of the most popular and widely performed dance styles and is practiced by male and female dancers all over India. Due to its wide range of movements and postures and the balanced melange of the rhythmic and mimetic aspects lends itself well to experimental and fusion choreography. Degree and Post Graduate courses covering the practice and theory of Bharata Natyam as well as the languages associated with its development are available at major universities of India.

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