The early 20th century witnessed a cultural awakening in India with the establishment of the country’s first dance schools—Santiniketan in Bengal and Kalakshetra in Tamil Nadu—both of which became pioneering institutions in the revival and education of Indian classical dance.
Santiniketan, founded in 1901 by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore in Bolpur, Birbhum District (now in West Bengal), was one of the first educational institutions in India to include a formal department of dance. Tagore invited renowned gurus from regions as far apart as Manipur and Kerala to live on campus and teach their traditional art forms. Santiniketan later became Visva-Bharati University, and its legacy continues through Sangit Bhavan, the institute dedicated to dance, drama, and music.
Meanwhile, in the south, Kalakshetra was established in 1936 in Adyar, Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu) by legendary dancer and theosophist Rukmini Devi Arundale. Originally named the International Academy of Arts, the school was later renamed Kalakshetra on the suggestion of Sanskrit and Tamil scholar Pandit P.S. Subrahmanya Sastri. The institution’s first major dance production, Kutrala Kuravanji, marked the beginning of a rich legacy in classical dance and theatre.
Both Santiniketan and Kalakshetra remain foundational pillars in the history of Indian dance education, fostering generations of artists and preserving the cultural and spiritual ethos of India’s classical arts.
