The story of Bharathanatyam

The history of Bharatanatyam is expansive and complex. What we now call Bharatanatyam developed significantly from Sadir, a dance tradition sustained by hereditary communities, particularly Devadasi and Isai Vellalar artists, who performed in temple, court, and other social contexts.

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Under colonial rule, these communities and their practices were increasingly subjected to moral condemnation through the anti-nautch and reform movements. This intersected with Indian social reform and nationalist politics, eventually contributing to legislation such as the Madras Devadasis (Prevention of Dedication) Act of 1947, which prohibited the dedication of women as Devadasis. These changes also contributed to the marginalisation of the hereditary artists who had sustained the tradition.

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At the same time, the dance underwent a revival and transformation. From the 1930s onward, it was increasingly presented as a respectable Indian “classical” art, with growing participation from upper-caste and middle-class women. The form was institutionalised, systematised, and aesthetically reshaped. Elements associated with eroticism, courtesan culture, and human śṛṅgāra were often reduced or reframed, while devotional bhakti became increasingly central to its public identity.

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These changes were also shaped by caste. As the dance gained new cultural legitimacy, the communities who had historically sustained it were increasingly displaced from authority over the form, while others gained access to its newly constructed classical identity.

This history is visible in the Bharatanatyam we practise today: in its codified pedagogy, highly articulated and geometric movement vocabulary, repertoire, performance contexts, and choreographic conventions.

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There is therefore a significant difference between twentieth-century Bharatanatyam and the Sadir traditions from which it emerged. For me, this is precisely why Bharatanatyam is contemporary and evolving—not a static ancient tradition. It is a living form shaped by transmission, erasure, revival, institutionalisation, and the continual choices of artists in the present.