The Natya Shastra, an ancient text on dance and drama, written by Bharata Muni has mentioned four styles of classical dance prevalent in different parts of India; they are Avanti, Daksinatya, Panchali, and Audra Magadhi. Audra here refers to Odisha. Another text Abhinay Chandrika, stated that there were schools of dancing in India; one amongst them was Audra belonging to Odisha.
