List of Famous Indian Classical Dance
1. Bharatnatyam (Tamil Nadu)
Most popular in South India, Bharatanatyam is the most ancient of all the classical Indian dance forms.
Famous Artists
Rukmini Devi Arundal, Sonal Mansi Mrinalini Sarabhai, Yamini Krishnamurthy, T. Bala Saraswa Vaijayantimala, Ramgopal, Padma Subramaniam, Malvika Sarkar.
2. Kathakali (Kerala)
Kathakali translates to the ‘storyteller’ in the country’s language. Coming from the Southern region of the country from Kerala, Kathakali is one of the most renowned and religious dances forms of India.
Famous Artists
Uday Shankar, Shantarao, Mrinalini Sarabh Krishnanayar, Shantarao, Ballatol Narayan Menon, Anand Shivram Chandu Panikar, Casey Panikar, Gurukunjkurup, Yottam Shankar.
3. Mohiniattam (Kerala, South India)
In Indian mythology, Mohini is the female avatar of Lord Vishnu, and the meaning of Attam in Malayalam is rhythmic motion hence adhering to the dance of the divine enchantress. It is the second most popular dance form of Kerala.
Famous Artists
Bharti Shivaji, Kalyani Amma, Geeta Nam Shantarao, Sridevi, Hema Malini, Ragini Devi.
4. Odyssey (Odisha)
Odissi dance form comes from the state of Odisha in the eastern part of India. The traditional dance has been derived from the Hindu temples in Odisha.
Famous Artists
Sonal Mansingh, Kiran Sehgal, Indrani Raheem Madhavi Mughal, Sherog Lowen (USA) Mirta Barvi (Argentina Mohan Mohapatra, Pankaj Charandas, Mayadhar Rawat, Harekrishna Behra.
5. Kuchipudi (Andhra Pradesh)
Kuchipudi is not just considered as the dance but a whole religious procedure dedicated to God which includes certain rituals such as sprinkling the holy water, burning the incense sticks and praying to God.
Famous Artists
Yamini Krishnamurti, Laxmi Narayan, Sundari, Radha Reddy, Laxminarayan Shastri,
6. Manipuri (Manipur)
Considered to be one of the most meaningful of the dances, the Manipuri dance originated in Northeast India. Purely a religious dance and its aim is a spiritual experience.
Famous Artists
Zaveri sisters (Darshana, Nayana, Suvarna, Ranjan Savita Mehta, Suryamukhi Devi, Bipinsinh, Nalkumarsinh, Gopal)
7 kathak
Kathak comes from the word ‘Katha’ which means “story” in Hindi. It isn’t a very smart guess for one to make that Kathak is performed in the form of storytelling through the body movements used by the dancer.
Famous Artists
Birju Maharaj, Lachhu Maharaj, Sukh Maharaj, Sitaradevi, Malvika Sarkar, Vandana Sen, So Mansingh, Kumudini Lakhia, Shobhana Narayan.
