The recognised classical forms

The Sangeet Natak Akademi recognises eight classical dances; the Ministry of Culture also counts Chhau, making nine.

Two from one state — Kerala gives both Kathakali (vigorous, dramatic) and Mohiniyattam (graceful, lyrical).

The trap: Sattriya of Assam was the last to be recognised, in 2000 — it is easily confused with Manipuri, the other classical form of the north-east.

Bharatanatyam and Kathak

Bharatanatyam

• ›grew from the temple and court dance of Tamil Nadu, once called Sadir
• ›revived and brought to the public stage in the 1930s, above all by Rukmini Devi Arundale, who founded Kalakshetra in Chennai in 1936
• ›a recital (margam) traditionally runs alarippu → jatiswaram → shabdam → varnam → padam → tillana — from pure rhythm, through the long central varnam that joins dance and expression, to a brisk, joyful close
• ›noted dancers include Yamini Krishnamurthy, Padma Subrahmanyam and Alarmel Valli

Kathak

• ›from the kathakars, storytellers who told sacred tales with gesture; later shaped in Hindu and Mughal courts, which added Persian elegance
• ›marked by tatkar (rhythmic footwork with ankle bells, ghungroo), swift chakkars (spins) and gentle storytelling
• ›gharanas — Lucknow (grace and expression, nurtured at the court of Wajid Ali Shah), Jaipur (powerful footwork and rhythm), and Banaras
• ›great names include Birju Maharaj of the Lucknow gharana and Sitara Devi

The trap: the long central piece of a Bharatanatyam recital is the varnam; the tillana comes at the end — options often reverse their places.

Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi

Kathakali (Kerala)

• ›a dance-drama of stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, told in plays called attakatha
• ›the make-up shows the type of character: pacha (green) for noble heroes, kathi (green with red) for proud villains, thadi (beards) for others, kari (black) for forest-dwellers and demonesses, minukku (soft yellow) for women and sages
• ›traditionally performed by men, through the night, with the actors silent while singers carry the words
• ›the Kerala Kalamandalam, founded in 1930 by the poet Vallathol Narayana Menon, revived it

Kuchipudi (Andhra Pradesh)

• ›named after a village in Krishna district; shaped by Siddhendra Yogi in the 17th century, whose Bhama Kalapam is its classic dance-drama
• ›joins dance with speech and song; its Tarangam is danced on the rim of a brass plate, sometimes with a pot of water on the head

Odissi (Odisha)

• ›among the oldest forms, with dancing figures carved in the Udayagiri caves and Odisha's temples
• ›built on the chauka (a square, open stance) and the tribhanga (three bends of the body)
• ›carried by the temple dancers (maharis) and the boy dancers (gotipuas); revived in the 20th century by gurus such as Kelucharan Mohapatra

The trap: the Tarangam on a brass plate belongs to Kuchipudi, not Bharatanatyam — the two southern forms share much, but the plate is Kuchipudi's alone.

Manipuri, Mohiniyattam, Sattriya — and Chhau

Manipuri (Manipur)

• ›rooted in the ritual Lai Haraoba and the Vaishnava Ras Lila of Krishna and the gopis
• ›soft, rounded, flowing movement; the feet never strike the floor hard and the dancers wear no ankle bells
• ›the women's costume includes the stiff, barrel-shaped skirt called potloi
• ›Rabindranath Tagore brought Manipuri teachers to Santiniketan, making the form known across India; Guru Bipin Singh and the Jhaveri sisters carried it forward

Mohiniyattam (Kerala)

• ›'the dance of the enchantress' (Mohini), graceful and swaying, in the gentle lasya mood
• ›danced by women in white and gold kasavu saris
• ›revived through the Kerala Kalamandalam; Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma shaped its modern form

Sattriya (Assam)

• ›created by the saint-reformer Srimanta Sankardev in the 15th–16th centuries for the Vaishnava monasteries (sattras) of Assam
• ›performed for centuries by male monks, and recognised as a classical dance in 2000

Chhau (eastern India)

• ›a vigorous, martial dance drawing on combat moves, performed at the spring festival
• ›three styles: Purulia (West Bengal) and Seraikela (Jharkhand), which use masks, and Mayurbhanj (Odisha), which does not
• ›inscribed on UNESCO's list of intangible heritage in 2010

The trap: Manipuri dancers wear no ankle bells and avoid hard footwork — the opposite of Kathak, where the ghungroo is central.

Points to Remember

• ›Sangeet Natak Akademi — 8 classical dances · Ministry of Culture adds Chhau (9)
• ›Bharatanatyam — Tamil Nadu, araimandi, Sadir; Rukmini Devi Arundale, Kalakshetra 1936
• ›margam — alarippu, jatiswaram, shabdam, varnam (centre), padam, tillana (close)
• ›Kathak — North India, tatkar, chakkar, ghungroo; Lucknow, Jaipur, Banaras gharanas; Birju Maharaj
• ›Kathakali — Kerala dance-drama, attakatha, pacha-kathi-thadi-kari-minukku make-up; Kalamandalam 1930, Vallathol
• ›Kuchipudi — Andhra, Siddhendra Yogi, Bhama Kalapam, Tarangam on a brass plate
• ›Odissi — chauka and tribhanga, maharis and gotipuas, Kelucharan Mohapatra
• ›Manipuri — Ras Lila, Lai Haraoba, potloi, no ankle bells; Tagore at Santiniketan
• ›Mohiniyattam — Kerala, lasya, white and gold
• ›Sattriya — Assam, Sankardev, sattras, recognised 2000
• ›Chhau — Purulia and Seraikela masked, Mayurbhanj unmasked; UNESCO 2010
• ›Exam tip: classical dance questions pair a dance with a state, a posture or a guru — learn one sharp mark for each and the options sort themselves