Background
Bharatanatyam is a classical Indian dance form originating in Southern India that has existed for over 2000 years. Bharatanatyam comes from 'Bha' for Bhava, 'Ra' for Ragam, 'Tam' for Talam and Natyam meaning dance in Sanskrit. Bhavam means feelings and emotions, ragam is the melody of the music, and talam is the rhythym. The theoretical foundations started in Tamil Nadu, and the Sanskrit texts are referred to as Natya Shastra. The Natya Shastra texts describe the theories of rasa, bhava, expression, gestures, basic steps or aduvus and postures. Bharatanatyam started as a dance performed in Indian temples to the deities and has since transformed into a large cultural performance art for story telling.