India is particularly rich in the folk idiom with specialised dances for occasions like marriage, seasons, rites, celebrations, etc. Folk dances vary geographically. Some of them are the Chauu dance of Bihar, Garba of Gujarat, Bhangra of Punjab and Banjara of Andhra Pradesh. Popular Folk Dances of India Performing Arts of Kerala Dance is a physical and visual art form which has an immediate and massive impact on the on-looker. The various Indian forms act like a window to India's rich culture.
Dance is a form of art, where the body is used as a medium of communication.
Indian dances have influenced several other realms of art like poetry, sculpture, architecture, literature, music and theatre. All forms of Indian classical dances owe allegiance to Natya Shastra , regarded as the fifth Veda. It is said that Brahma the Creator, developed Natya , taking literature from the Rig Veda, song from the Sama Veda, abhinaya or expression from the Yajur Veda and rasa or aesthetic experience from the Atharva Veda. It explains the intricacies of dance, emphasising on mudras or hand formations and their meanings, the kind of emotions and their categorisation, not to mention the kind of attire, the stage, the ornaments and even the audience. All dance forms follow the same hand gestures or hasta mudras for each of these rasas .