9 Benefits of Bharatanatyam for Kids: Body, Mind and Culture

There is no shortage of dance classes for children: film dance, hip hop, contemporary, freestyle. So why do so many parents, in India and abroad, still choose Bharatanatyam, a form that takes years to learn and starts with months of posture work? Because what a child gains from it goes far beyond learning to dance. Here are the benefits parents and teachers see most often.

1. Posture and strength

The aramandi, the half-sitting position Bharatanatyam is danced from, builds strong thighs, a stable core and an upright back. Children who learn it carry themselves differently, and teachers in school often notice before parents do.

2. Fitness and stamina

A Bharatanatyam class is a full workout: jumps, footwork, deep knee bends and sustained positions. Done regularly, it builds cardiovascular fitness, flexibility and endurance, without the child ever thinking of it as exercise.

3. Rhythm in the body

Every adavu is danced to a tala, in three speeds. Children learn to keep time with their feet, and that sense of rhythm carries over into music, sport and even speech.

4. Coordination

Bharatanatyam asks the feet, legs, arms, hands, eyes and face to do different things at the same moment. That is a demanding exercise in coordination, and children get visibly better at it term by term.

5. Memory

A single dance item can run for several minutes with hundreds of movements in a fixed order, and a full margam is two hours long. Learning items end to end trains long-sequence memory in much the same way that learning shlokas does.

6. Focus and discipline

Classes begin with a namaskaram and follow a clear structure. Progress is visible but slow, and it comes from daily practice. Children learn that steady effort, not talent alone, is what makes something beautiful.

7. Expression and emotional intelligence

Through abhinaya children learn to show the nine rasas, love, joy, sorrow, anger, courage, fear, disgust, wonder and peace, with the face and body. To show an emotion well, you first have to understand it, which makes abhinaya a quiet lesson in empathy.

8. Stage confidence

Performing at showcases, festivals and eventually perhaps an arangetram teaches a child to stand in front of an audience and carry a performance through. Many parents say this is the benefit they value most, because it shows up everywhere else in life.

9. A living link to Indian culture

Bharatanatyam’s songs come from Carnatic music, its stories from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Puranas and the lives of Krishna, Shiva and Ganesha, and its language from Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. For children growing up away from India especially, dance is one of the most joyful ways to stay connected to where they come from.

Bharatanatyam gives a child strength, rhythm and stories, and the confidence to share them.

Is Bharatanatyam only for girls?

No. Many of the most respected Bharatanatyam dancers and gurus have been men, and the benefits above are the same for any child. Boys are welcome in every one of our batches.

Getting started

Our Bharatanatyam classes run live online and in person at HSR Layout, Bengaluru, for children from age five, in the Kalakshetra style. Read our beginner’s guide for what the first year looks like, or visit the Bharatanatyam class page to enquire.