Bharatanatyam

Bharatanatyam also historically called Sadir, is a major genre of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu Traditionally, Bharatanatyam has been a solo dance that was performed exclusively by women and it expressed South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism.

Bharatanatyam's theoretical foundations trace to the ancient Sanskrit text by Bharata Muni, Natya Shastra, its existence by 2nd century CE is noted in the ancient Tamil epic Silappatikaram, while temple sculptures of 6th to 9th century CE suggest it was a well refined performance art by mid 1st millennium CE.Bharatanatyam may be the oldest classical dance tradition of India