Last reviewed 22 Sept 2026 · 3 min read
Classical dances
The Sangeet Natak Akademi recognises eight classical dance forms:
| Dance | State | Marks of the form |
|---|---|---|
| Bharatanatyam | Tamil Nadu | solo, temple origin, sharp lines and araimandi posture |
| Kathak | Uttar Pradesh | footwork and spins; the only classical form with a Persian-influenced court tradition |
| Kathakali | Kerala | male dance-drama, elaborate make-up and headgear |
| Kuchipudi | Andhra Pradesh | dance-drama with spoken word; the brass-plate dance |
| Odissi | Odisha | tribhanga posture, temple sculpture come alive |
| Manipuri | Manipur | Ras Lila, gentle and rounded movement |
| Mohiniyattam | Kerala | solo, feminine (lasya) style |
| Sattriya | Assam | from the Vaishnava monasteries (sattras) of Sankardeva |
Folk dances worth knowing: Bhangra and Giddha (Punjab), Garba and Dandiya (Gujarat), Ghoomar and Kalbeliya (Rajasthan), Lavani (Maharashtra), Bihu (Assam), Chhau (Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal), Yakshagana (Karnataka), Theyyam (Kerala), Rouf (Kashmir), Karma (Chhattisgarh).
Music
- Hindustani (north) and Carnatic (south) are the two classical systems. Carnatic is more composition-centred, Hindustani more improvisatory.
- The raga sets the melodic frame and the tala the rhythmic cycle: Teentaal (16 beats), Ektaal (12), Jhaptaal (10), Rupak (7).
- Hindustani gharanas: Gwalior, Kirana, Jaipur-Atrauli, Agra, Patiala.
- Instruments: sitar (Ravi Shankar), sarod (Ali Akbar Khan), shehnai (Bismillah Khan), santoor (Shivkumar Sharma), flute (Hariprasad Chaurasia), tabla (Zakir Hussain), veena and mridangam in the Carnatic tradition.
- Carnatic trinity: Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri.