Bharat Natyam

The history of Bharat Natyam is interesting. The genre of Bharat Natyam was developed by amalgamating a number of elements from the earlier forms of Dassi Attam and Sadr. Dassi Attam was a dance form of the Deva Dassis (temple dancing girls) while Sadr was a form found in the palaces of southern India. A number of people contributed to the development of Bharat Natyam,but the most notable was E. Krishna Iyer of Madras (Chennai). This was in the 1930's It is difficult to determine the age of Bharat Natyam; this is due to the evolving nature of Indian dance. Although Bharat Natyam evolved from Sadr and Dassi Attam, there are differences. If one feels that Bharat Natyam is different enough to be considered a distinct genre, then we may safely say that it is only about 70 years old.
There are a number of musicians and instrumentalist who provide the musical accompaniment. Typically there is one or more vocalist, a person reciting the dance syllables, and a mridangam. Additionally, one usually finds violin, vina (saraswati vina), or venu (bamboo flute). There is also a thallam (manjira) which is usually played by the person reciting the dance syllables. The overall style of the Bharat Natyam musical accompaniment is not unlike other Carnatic performances.
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.