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. The earliest archaeological evidence is a beautiful statuette of a dancing girl dated around 6000 BC. Bharata's Natya Shastra (believed to have been penned between the 2nd century B.C. and 2nd century A.D) is the earliest available treatise on dramaturgy. All forms of Indian classical dances owe allegiance to Natya Shastra, regarded as the fifth Veda.

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