Reviving the Forgotten: Can Artificial Intelligence Save India’s Lesser-Known Classical Dance Forms?

This article explores how artificial intelligence is becoming a valuable ally in preserving and revitalizing India's lesser-known classical dance forms. While honoring the emotional and cultural depth of traditional practice, it highlights how AI can document, analyze, and support the evolution of dance through tools like motion capture, pose estimation, and digital archiving. This article offers insights from artists and scholars who see technology not as a replacement, but as a partner in keeping the soul of these traditions alive.

AI is becoming an essential tool in preserving and promoting Indian classical dance traditions, many of which face extinction due to a lack of visibility, documentation, or institutional support. 

In the evolving world of dance, the intersection of art and technology presents a compelling frontier for preserving and revitalizing ancient art forms. Dancer Prachi Saathi, along with Upasana Nattoji Roy, explored this fusion in When Walls Dance, a choreography that blends movement with animated Warli tribal art to tell a powerful story.

As the dance community seeks ways to evolve and adapt, technology offers avenues for the preservation and revival of classical dance forms. This journey does not suggest that the human touch in dance can be replaced. Rather, it views AI as a tool to document, analyze, and revive dance traditions that are at risk of being lost.

Challenges such as lost choreography, insufficient documentation, and fading techniques can be addressed with AI-powered tools that capture movements and preserve them for future generations.

The Role of AI in Documenting and Preserving Dance

One of AI's most compelling applications in the arts is its ability to document and archive movement. Indian classical forms like Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, and others are traditionally passed down orally or through personal mentorship. While texts like the Natyashastra exist, much of this embodied knowledge risks disappearing without systematic documentation.

Dr. Navina Jafa, cultural activist and performing artist, emphasizes, “Tradition is a flowing process. It’s not frozen in time, but something that evolves with people and context. The task lies in conserving its essence while allowing it to grow.”

Dr. Jafa, who led a cultural mapping project for the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation, highlights how AI can create digital archives that capture both the physical and expressive aspects of movement, preserving even the most nuanced gestures. “AI and technology have a role to play not in replicating the guru-shishya relationship, but in capturing the fluid, experiential nature of traditional dance,” she says.

Revitalizing Angika and Abhinaya

A core challenge in preserving Indian classical dance is the revival of Angika (physical gestures) and Abhinaya (expressive storytelling). In Kathak, for example, facial expressions often take a backseat to footwork and hand gestures. AI can help restore the balance between expression and movement, reviving lost layers of performance.

Dr. Jafa explains that true preservation requires cultural mapping, not static labeling, but tracing the dynamic flow of ideas, identities, and movements over time. Cultural economics, she adds, is also essential: “Just as we document an art form, we must also define its economic value and relevance to today’s society.”

Enhancing Choreography Through Technology

AI also has creative potential. By mapping and analyzing dance patterns it can offer insights into choreographic possibilities, helping artists stay rooted in tradition while embracing innovation.

According to Irena Mohini Mihalkovich, an interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker, “Dance is not static. Even if a dancer repeats the same movement, it will never be identical. It breathes, evolves, and carries the dancer’s personal and social history.”

While tools like pose estimation and motion capture support documentation, their effectiveness depends on the context. For example, motion capture may disrupt performances, especially with older, non-tech-savvy practitioners. In contrast, video-based pose estimation offers less intrusive solutions.

Yet, AI is only as good as its data. As Irena notes, AI systems rely on textual and image-based datasets, with video still underrepresented. That limits AI’s ability to grasp emotional and cultural depth.

She adds, “Someone still has to go to the field, record, observe, and most importantly, interpret.”

Beyond the Algorithm: The Soul of Dance

Dance reconstruction often relies on poetic intuition, not just data. Irena points to Kalyanikutty Amma’s reimagining of Mohiniyattam as an example. From fragmented memories and sparse documentation, Amma revived an art form using deep cultural insight. Something no algorithm can replicate.

“AI can mimic, but not understand, the emotional layers, trauma, and philosophy that shape a dancer’s body,” Irena cautions.

AI’s role, then, is to assist in accelerating research and enhancing access, but not replacing the spiritual connection between guru and shishya.

“AI may assist in preservation, but it’s the mindful, meaningful presence of people that will keep these traditions alive,” Irena points out. 

Harmony of Artificial Intelligence and Music 

Sandeep Ranade, a software engineer,  Hindustani classical vocalist, and educator,  designed NaadSadhana that utilises Artistic Intelligence to play a 27-instrument live orchestra in real time. This Apple Design Award-winning app helps musicians of all genres and any expertise practice, perform, and create music. With the help of AI, the app creates a backing track to match, in real time. There are no stock riffs nor repeating loops. It's 26 instruments, including virtual swarmandal, tablas, drums, guitars, cajon, and harmonies (violin, piano, harmonium, radiance), are as spontaneous as the music. 

“Any technology that helps recreate a live, spontaneous musical environment for practice will naturally elevate a performer’s experience, both in rehearsal and on stage. For dancers too, practicing with immersive, dynamic accompaniment can bring them closer to the energy of a live performance, refining their timing, expression, and presence,” Sandeep points out whether an AI-assisted learning can be adopted to support classical dance forms. 

On whether AI-assisted learning could support classical dance, Sandeep believes the potential is promising. He notes that pose analysis and motion tracking have already made significant strides and can offer basic visual feedback. However, to fully support the nuance, subtlety, and emotional depth of forms like Bharatanatyam or Kathak, the technology will need to evolve further. Still, it’s a rich and active area of research.

“The key is to design technology that uplifts the artist, never replacing, restricting, or making them complacent,” he emphasises.  AI tools should serve as enablers, expanding creative possibilities while preserving the richness and integrity of the art form.  “As both an artist and technologist, I’ve been deeply mindful to build features that empower musicians, never ones that create dependence or dull their skills. And as an artist myself, I use technology in the very same spirit, to supplement and elevate my practice, never to replace effort or make me lazy,” he adds. 

For Sandeep, the ultimate goal is to preserve, enhance, and celebrate human artistry, not overshadow it.  “At the end of the day, it’s the little surprises, the spontaneous and playful moments of raw emotion that make our art truly alive. Technology should learn to move with that spirit, not take it out of the equation,” he adds.

Bridging the Gap Between Tradition and Modernity

AI allows choreographers to visualize movement in new spatial dimensions, bringing fresh perspectives to traditional forms and making them accessible to global audiences. From augmented reality stages to VR-based training modules, AI is reshaping how we teach, view, and experience dance.

The key to this transformation lies in balancing preserving tradition while embracing innovation. With thoughtful use of AI, India’s classical dance forms can thrive and evolve, resonating with future generations without losing their soul.

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Ayshwaria Lakshmi is a Chennai-based journalist & Bharatnatyam dancer