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The origins of dance in India go back to ancient times. The earliest paleolithic and neolithic cave paintings such as the UNESCO world heritage site at Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh show dance scenes¹.

Classical Indian dances have historically involved a school or guru-shishya parampara (teacher-disciple tradition) and require studies of the classical texts, physical exercises, and extensive training to systematically synchronize the dance repertoire with underlying play or composition, vocalists and the orchestra¹.

Dances performed in India are said to have their origins in dances and rituals of the period of the Vedas, which date back to around 1000 B.C. The earliest Indian religious texts describe creation in terms of dance. In Hindu mythology, a dance by Shiva creates and destroys the universe³.

The history of Indian dance can be divided into two parts: the first being 2nd century B.C. to the 9th Century A.D. and the other from 10th or 11th Century to the 18th Century A.D. During the first period, Sanskrit exercised a firm hold on all arts in the country. Natyashastra was inclined to drama, dance and music².