Indian classical dance, or Shastriya Nritya, is an umbrella term for different regionally-specific Indian classical dance traditions, rooted in predominantly Hindu musical theatre performance, the theory and practice of which can be traced to the Sanskrit text Natya Shastra. The number of Indian classical dance styles ranges from six to eight to twelve, or more, depending on the source and scholar; the main organisation for Indian arts preservation, the Sangeet Natak Academy recognizes eight: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali, Sattriya, Manipuri and Mohiniyattam. Additionally, the Indian Ministry of Culture includes Chhau in its list, recognising nine total styles. Scholars such as Drid Williams add Chhau, Yakshagana and Bhagavata Mela to the list. Each dance tradition originates and comes from a different state and/or region of India; for example, Bharatanatyam is from Tamil Nadu in the south of India, Odissi is from the east coast state of Odisha, and Manipuri is from the northeastern state of Manipur. The music associated with these different dance performances consists many compositions in Hindi, Malayalam, Meitei (Manipuri), Sanskrit, Tamil, Odia, Telugu, Assamese, and many other Indian-Subcontinent languages; they represent a unity of core ideas and a diversity of styles, costumes, and expression.
Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar (15 February 1899 – 14 January 1990) was a celebrated master performance artist and Sanskrit scholar from Kerala, India, considered to be the greatest Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam artist and authority of modern times. He was considered as the authority of Abhinaya and Nātyaśāstra.
Shovana Narayan is a recognised Indian Kathak dancer and a career officer with Indian Audit and Accounts Service. She performs in India and internationally, and has been awarded the Padma Shri. She trained under Birju Maharaj.
Mrinalini Vikram Sarabhai was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. She was the founder and director of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, an institute for imparting training in dance, drama, music and puppetry, in the city of Ahmedabad. She received Padma Bhushan in 1992 and Padma Shri in 1965. She also received many other citations in recognition of her contribution to art.
Damayanti Joshi was a noted renowned exponent of the Kathak dance form. She believed Kathak is the art of storytelling. She began in the 1930s dancing in Madame Menaka's troupe, which travelled to many parts of the world. She learnt Kathak from Sitaram Prasad of Jaipur Gharana and became an adept dancer at a very young age, and later trained under from Acchan Maharaj, Lacchu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj of Lucknow gharana, thus imbibing nuances from both the traditions. She became independent in the 1950s and achieved prominence in the 1960s, before turning into a guru at her dance school in Mumbai.
Sangita Kalanidhi Aruna Sairam is an Indian classical vocalist and carnatic music singer. She is a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and was elected as the Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Academy by the Government of India until 2022. In 2011, Aruna was the first Carnatic musician to perform at the BBC proms in London. She is also the first Carnatic musician to perform in Oud Festival of Israel (Jerusalem).
Bayanacharya Ghanakanta Bora Muktiyar is a choreographer and guru (Mentor) of Sattriya dance, a major classical dance tradition of Assam, India and Pakistan. He is also a renowned instrumentalist and author. He has won the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2001.
Raja and Radha Reddy are an Indian Kuchipudi dancing couple, gurus and choreographers. They are renowned as exponents of the South Indian dance form of Kuchipudi. They founded and run the Natya Tarangini Institute of Kuchipudi Dance in New Delhi. The duo are credited with having given Kuchipudi a new dimension without compromising on its traditional virtues. For their services to the field of arts, the Government of India has conferred on them the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards.
Kumari Kamala is an Indian dancer and actress. Initially featured as a child dancer, Kamala appeared in almost 100 Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films throughout her career. In the 1970s, she became a teacher of the Vazhuvoor style of dance in which she specialises.
Jaya Seal Ghosh is an Indian actress and dancer. She was trained in Bharatanatyam from an early age by Guru Indira P. P. Bora for five years.she was also acting in Assamnee television and plays with Assamnee theatre personalities from NSD like Dulal Roy and Baharul Islam (actor) who inspired her. She studied at the National School of Drama in New Delhi where she had completed her three-year course in the year 1997.
Ojapali is a traditional shamanistic type of indigenous folk dance from Assam in the northeastern region of India. Ojapali is believed to have evolved from Kathakata tradition and is performed in a group; it is believed to be one of the oldest art forms of Assam. Originally evolved in the Kamata state the western and northern part of river Brahmaputra later limited to Darrang area under the patronisation of Darrangi King Dharmanarayana. The repertoire of this performance consists of songs, dialogues, gesture, improvised acting and dramatisation etc. The group consists of an Oja, who leads the performance and four or five palies, who supplement the performance with continuously playing cymbal. Among the Palies Daina pali who stand on the right-hand side of the Oja is the active one and he and Oja take the performance forward. Many believe that Shankardev took inspiration from Ojapali to create his Ankiya Bhaona. Moreover, he also created his own Sattriya Ojapali. Generally Darrangi Suknanni Ojapali sings the lyrics written by Sukabi Narayanadeva in Padmapurana. Padma Purana covers the story of serpent goddess Maroi(manasa devi). Ojapali is associated with Shakti Puja, including the deities manasa, kali, durga, kesikhaiti, kakogoshani etc.
Saroja Vaidyanathan was an Indian choreographer, guru, and notable proponent of Bharatanatyam. She was conferred the Padma Shri in 2002 and the Padma Bhushan in 2013 by the Government of India.
Elam Endira Devi, is an Indian classical dancer and teacher, known for her expertise and scholarship in the classical dance form of Manipuri, especially in the genres of Lai Haraoba and Raas. The Government of India honored her, in 2014, with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her services to the field of art and culture.
Minati Mishra was an Indian classical dancer and actress, known for her expertise in the Indian classical dance form of Odissi. She was reported in 2011 to be the oldest-living Odissi performer. The Government of India honored Mishra in 2012, with the fourth-highest civilian award of Padma Shri.
Pushpa Bhuyan was an Indian classical dancer specialising in the Indian classical dance forms of Bharatanatyam and Sattriya. She comes from the Northeast Indian state of Assam, and learned sattriya from Bhabananda Barbayan. She later studied bharatanatyam under Guru Mangudi Dorairaja Iyer. She has also tutored other dancers. A recipient of the North East Television Lifetime Achievement Award, Pushpa Bhuyan was honoured by the Government of India, in 2002, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Roshan Kumari Fakir Mohammad is an Indian classical dancer, actor and choreographer, considered by many as one of the foremost exponents of the Indian classical dance form of Kathak. She follows the Jaipur Gharana and is the founder of Nritya Kala Kendra, Mumbai, an academy promoting Kathak. A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1975, she received the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri from the Government of India in 1984.
Jatin Goswami is an Indian dancer and choreographer, known as one of the prominent exponents of the classical dance form of Sattriya. He is the founder director of Sattriya Akademi, Guwahati, a sitting member of its Advisory Committee, and a former member of the General Council of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. He is also the founder of Alok Shilpi Sangha, a dance academy and Pragjyoti Kala Parishad, a cultural organization, and is a recipient of the 2004 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2008, for his contributions to Sattriya dance.
Aruna Mohanty is an Odissi dancer, choreographer and guru. She is currently the Secretary of the Orissa (Odisha) Dance Academy. She has received a number of awards for her work, including the Padmashree award.
Puru Dadheech is a Kathak dancer. He is a choreographer and educator of Indian classical dance, and is known for his pioneering work in the field of Kathak. At the oldest Kathak department which was formed in 1956 at Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya Public University located in Khairagarh, Puru Dadheech instated the first Kathak syllabus in 1961. He is the holder of the first Doctorate in Kathak Classical Dance and emphasizes the relevance of Shastras in the Kathak repertoire. He was awarded Padma Shri, the 4th highest civilian award of India He is currently serving as the Director of the world's first dedicated Kathak research Centre at the Sri Sri University, Cuttack called Sri Sri Centre for Advanced Research in Kathak.
Sarodi Saikia is an Indian classical dancer, dance teacher and chetar player from Assam. She is best known for her Sattriya dance. Saikia received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2015. In 2022, the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Assam awarded the dancer the Bishnu Rabha Award.
