Kathak is the youngest of all the dance forms existing in our country, India. It is a popular dance of North India. It originated in temples in North India in the form of Radha and Krishna lilas. With the advent of Muslim rule, Kathak came out of the temples to the royal courts. During Mughals’ reign Kathak spread all over Northern India and Lucknow, Jaipur and Varanasi became its principal centres.
The Kathak dance form comes from the ‘Kathaks’, the narrators of ‘Katha’- the wandering musicians of north India, who used to sing themes, both divine and secular. They beautified their stories with suitable actions of both song and dance. And, from this narration of dance and song the beautiful dance form Kathak took birth.
Of all our classical dance styles, Kathak was mostly danced for the pleasure of kings. It was the court dance of the Mughals. It was deprived of the former inspiration which it had found in the devotional mood. The dancers no longer offered their art to the temples’ deities as part of the rituals of worship. They exhibited the dance before a gathering of men who had come to watch both the dance and the dancers. The dance provided them pleasure and they appreciated the beautiful performance of the dancers. The dance made them aware of the excellence of the dancers’ accomplishment and the power of withstanding strain. Kathak , thus became more popular in the common masses being a classical dance form.
Kathak was preserved in its ancient classic purity in the families of ‘Maestors’ like Kalka, Bindadin and their descendants.