Saṃskṛta Nāṭyam, Level 1
A structured pathway to understand Bharatanatyam as a śāstra-based art. Drawing on classical treatises and the Mysore tradition, it trains dancers to join textual wisdom with refined performance.
Short-term courses · Dance
Saṃskṛta Nāṭyam
Classical dance as a living knowledge system, uniting theory (lakṣaṇa) and practice (lakṣya).
Indian classical dance is not merely a performing art. It is a living knowledge system rooted in Sanskrit śāstra. Its strength lies in the union of lakṣaṇa (theory) and lakṣya (practice), where understanding gives depth to expression and performance gives life to knowledge.
The Saṃskṛta Nāṭyam programme restores this balance. Through a graded structure, learners are guided into systematic study of classical treatises, Sanskrit foundations and authentic performance technique. The course nurtures dancers who move with clarity, awareness and cultural rootedness.
Curated and taught by senior scholars and practitioners grounded in the guru–śiṣya paramparā, it offers a rare chance to study classical dance as an integrated discipline rather than a fragmented skill. Learners develop technical excellence and a refined artistic vision shaped by śāstra, tradition and practice.
The course runs in four levels, each an independent short-term course. We recommend taking them in order, but you may enter at any level that suits your proficiency.
Choose your course
An overview of the courses
Lakṣaṇa (theory)
- Introduction to basic Saṃskṛta
- An orientation to the study of Nāṭya Śāstra granthas
- Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharatamuni
- Works of Abhinavaguptācārya and the Abhinavabhāratī
- The concept of rasa
- Saṅgītaratnākara of Śārṅgadeva
- Kallinātha's Kalānidhi
- Bharatārṇava of Nandikeśvara
- Nartananirṇaya
- Chanting select ślokas
Texts from three eras, Prācīna (ancient), Madhya (medieval) and Ādhunika (modern), are introduced step by step across the four levels.
Lakṣya (performance)
Taught in graded steps across the four levels:
- Nāṭya basics and tāla basics
- Aṅgābhyāsa
- Nṛtta hastas
- Hasta viniyoga and hasta karaṇas
- Bhūmi and ākāśa cārīs
- Nṛtta karaṇas
- Nṛtta and nṛtya compositions
- Nāṭya compositions
- A feature choreography
- Special items choreographed from the treatises studied
