Bharatanatyam, the ancient classical art of Tamil Nadu, India is an aesthetic delight, with its colourful looks, lively movements and subtle tonality. The dance form owes its name to Sage Bharata, who is believed to have composed Natya Sastra, a treatise on Indian dances.

Bharatanatyam is conceived as a visual embodiment of music. It is also considered to be a fire dance, the manifestation of the fire element in the human body. The dance is composed of three elements: Nritta (rhythmic element), Nritya (combination of rhythm with expression) and Natya (dramatic element).

In this video, it is Rama Vaidyanathan, famous Bharatanatyam exponent and choreographer performing. The venue is Nishagandhi Festival, the annual dance and music festival held at Thiruvananthapuram.