It is a temple art originated from Tamil Nadu.Bharatanatyam used to be called as "Sadir dance" in olden days. Tanjor Quartets named Chinnaeyya , Ponneyya , Shivanandam and vadivelu designed the Bharatanatyam repertoire of modern era.
Bharatanatyam
Slide 2
Origin
It is the most widely practiced of Indian classical dances in south India. The term Bharatnatyam was introduced in the mid thirties by E. Krishna Iyer and later spread by Rukminidevi Arundale. It comprises of Bhava,Raga, Tala, and Natya put together.