The text Natya Shastra describes religious arts as a form as margi, or a “spiritual traditional path” that liberates the soul, while the folk entertainment is called desi or a “regional popular practice”.Īll major classical Indian dance forms include in repertoire, three categories of performance in the Natya Shastra. Dance and performance arts, states this ancient text, are a form of expression of spiritual ideas, virtues and the essence of scriptures. The text describes the theory of Tāṇḍava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, of bhāva, expression, gestures, acting techniques, basic steps, standing postures – all of which are part of Indian classical dances. The most studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters. Its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE. The Natya Shastra is the foundational treatise for classical dances of India and this text is attributed to the ancient scholar Bharata Muni. These dances are traditionally regional, all of them include music and recitation in local language or Sanskrit and they represent a unity of core ideas in a diversity of styles, costumes and expressions. Kathak, from Northern and Western India.The Sangeet Natak Akademi recognizes eight Classical dances – Indian classical dance, or Shastriya Nritya, is an umbrella term for various performance arts rooted in religious Hindu musical theatre styles, whose theory and practice can be traced to the Sanskrit text Natya Shastra.