Indian classical dance, or Shastriya Nritya, is an umbrella term for various performance arts rooted in religious Hindu musical theatrestyles, whose theory and practice can be traced to the Sanskrit text Natya Shastra.
The number of recognized classical dances range from eight to more, depending on the source and scholar. The Sangeet Natak Akademi recognizes eight – Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali, Sattriya, Manipuri and Mohiniyattam. Scholars such as Drid Williams add Chhau, Yakshagana and Bhagavata Mela to the list. The Culture Ministry of the Government of India includes Chhau in its classical list. 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 expression. Indian classical dance is made from India and classical dance is played by various actors.
The Natya Shastra mentions four Pravrittis (traditions, genres) of ancient dance-drama in vogue when it was composed – Avanti (Ujjain, entral), Dakshinatya (south), Panchali(north, west) and Odra-Magadhi (Odisha-Bihar-Bengal, east).
Sources differ in their list of Indian classical dance forms. Encyclopædia Britannica mentions six dances. The Sangeet Natak Akademi has given recognition to nine Indian dances. The Indian government's Ministry of Culture includes eleven dance forms. Scholars such as Drid Williams and others clude Chhau, Yaksagana and Bhagavata Melato the eight classical Indian dances in the Sangeet Natak Akademi list.
The classical dance forms recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Ministry of Culture are:
Reference Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_classical_dance
