Bharatanatyam is said to be more than 2000 years old, making it one of the oldest classical Indian dance-forms.
It has it’s roots in Tamil Nadu, a state in the South of India.

Originally this dance was performed only in the temple, by ´devadasis’, servants of God, and therefore it has a strong devotional character.

The dancer is accompanied by Carnatic music. This is 'vocal' music from the South of India, meaning that the music can be 'sang'.
The text for songs are most often sang in Tamil, Kannada, Malayam, Telugu and sometimes in Sanskrit.

Bharatanatyam is composed of three aspects:
nritta (pure technical dance),
nritya ( story-telling, by the use of handgestures and facial expressions called abhinaya)
and natya (the entire drama, including chant, emotional expression and mouvements of the body).

The stories that are being told are based on Hindu mythology.