Kuchipudi is the name of a small village in the Divi Taluq of Krishna district, which is currently in State of Andhra Pradesh, India. This village originally derived its name from Kuchelapuram. In this village, resident Brahmins practiced this traditional dance form for decades until the village itself earned the name Kuchipudi. The great talent within the village of Kuchipudi is nurtured by scholars, gurus, and artists who refined its technique for centuries and continue to build its repertoire.

It was believed that the Saint Siddhendra Yogi, in the 14th century of Indian history, was blessed by Lord Nataraja (Lord of Dance) and taught the first dance drama to Kuchipudi Brahmin boys, to empower them. He was the author of the renowned Kuchipudi dance drama “Bhamakalapam.” Siddhendra Yogi trained actors who put on plays by teaching them, to become Bhagavatulu, performers of the Bhagavata Mela Natakams. Siddhendra Yogi is said to be the first scholar to give it the current form of dance drama. Bhamakalapam is one of his celebrated compositions. He reserved Kuchipudi to males only. However, in modern times, it has been embraced and celebrated by women.

Later in 1675 A.D. Abul Hasan Kutubshah Navab of Golkonda had given Kuchipudi Agraharam to Bhagavatulu. After the Vijayanagara Dynasty, some of these Kuchipudi Bhagavathulu migrated to other villages, like Melattur in Tanjavur, and started teaching Kuchipudi Bhagavatham. These artists' main objective was Bhagavataradhana (Bhakthi), so they are called Bhagavatulu.

The repertoire of Kuchipudi, follows the three categories of performance inferred from the ancient treatise on Dramaturgy, the Natya Sastra. These are Nritta (pure dance, fast and rhythmic foot work), Nritya (expressive dance to communicate feelings and emotions) and Natya (play production). Kuchipudi is accompanied by Carnatic music. A typical orchestra for a Kuchipudi recital includes the mridangam, flute, veena, violin, and ghatam. A vocalist sings the songs, and the Nattuvanar conducts the orchestra and recites the rhythmic Jathi patterns.

Kuchipudi is unique among the Indian classical dance styles for its dance dramas with live dialogues while performing on the stage and male actors who also take female roles. The earliest and the most celebrated work in Kuchipudi is, the famous dance drama Bhamakalapam, another is Tarangam.

Tarangam, the performer dances on the edges of a brass plate, executing complicated rhythmic foot patterns with dexterity, while also balancing a brass pot of water on their head. The Tarangam demonstrates a dancer’s masterful coordination and understanding of balance, rhythm, and speed, while employing incomparable abhinayam.