Bharatanatyam is one of the oldest of the four main classical dance forms prevailing in India with a history of more than two thousand years. It  developed from ritualistic dances performed in the past as offerings to the deities of Hindu temples. In Bharatanatyam, rhythm and enactment go hand in hand to create a beautiful whole. There are two main categories of dance, 'nritta' or abstract dance for the sake of its own beauty, and 'nrithya', which consists of both nritta and expression. That is rhythmic movements as well as movements with abhinaya are done.

Abhinaya is the art of expression. It is the medium of  presentation by which one can convey one's ideas and the feelings to others  without speech but by means of mudras, mime, facial expression and movements of  the body.

In a classical Bharatanatyam performance, all the various  elements of the presentation find their focus in the dancer and become unified in  her. The 'nattuvanar' or composition articulates the rhythm of her movements, the singer expresses her thoughts and feelings and the accompanying musicians  create a musical background for her. The audience can thus completely identify with her.

Classical Indian  dance when performed with an understanding of the philosophical vision and  technical wizardry of those who founded and shaped the
style, is incredibly modern in its stress on the distilled essence of the most abstract  ideas  engaging the modern mind.

As for Bharatanatyam, the most beautiful things  about it could be the sense of beauty, the deep awareness of human emotions and the intense need to share and bond with people.