Dance has been a form of communication between man and god from the dawn of humanity. It arose as a form of expresssion of oneself when mere words and gestures failed to convey the essence of the feelings. It is well known that classical dance grew out of the systematic study of folk dances.

HISTORY

India has a proud history of dance dating back to c 5000 BC. The earliest available 'evidence' of dance in India is the figurine of th "Dancing girl found at the Harappa (Sindhu-Saraswathi civilization) excavation.This figurine consists of a well coiffured and ornamented girl standing with one hand placed on her hip and the other left loose.This dancing girl is thought to represent either a social or religious dancer. As with any other aspect related to the Sindhu-Saraswathi civilization, the interpretation is ambigious.

There has been a break in the recorded history of India between the Sindhu-Saraswathi civilization period and c 200 BC. During the later period Bharata's "NatyaShastra" was written. Natya Shastra is dated between 200 BC and 200 AD. It is believed that Bharata was not the name of a single person but a title given to scholars of Natya who documented the art. Natya as defined in the Natya Shastra does not mean merely dance but encompasses all arts performed on stage like dance, drama and music. Music was an accesory to Natya and did not occupy a chief position like it did in later periods.

Natya Shastra gives an account of the legends associated with the origin of dance.

LEGENDS AND MYTHS

According to the Natya Shastra dance originated when the sage Bharata aproached Lord Shiva and asked him with a request to give to the world an art form through which the essence of the Vedas could be propagated to everybody. This was important since Vedas could not be studied by all memebers of the society. Hence Shiva took parts from the four Vedas to create a fifth Veda (panchama Veda) of Natya. He took from Rig Veda, Swara from Sama Veda, Acting from Artharva Veda and Chanting from Yajur Veda.

On his request Parvathy performed the elegent Lasya style of dance. This was taught by her to the asura princess Usha wha eventualy propagated it in the western parts of present India. The first dance to be performed was on the occasion of the flg festival of Indra to celebrate his victory. The asuras who saw this dance thought it to be another declaration of war and had to be pacified by Brahma. Brahma then ordered that dance will henceforth be performed only on earth. (There are contradictions to this since the Apsaras were known to dance in heaven).

Hence it is no surprise that Shiva (in the form of Nataraja) is the presiding deity of dance. He is seen in this form in Chidambaram.

Vaishnavism was not uneffected by dance. Vishnu in the form of Mohini is said to have danced with Bhasmasura. In the avatara of Krishna he is said to have danced over the head of the deadly snake Kaliya. He is also said to have danced the Raas with the ladies of Brindavan.

It is hence seen that although later day dances were related to courteseans and devadasis, they were originaly held in high esteem.