Mohiniyattam is a traditional south Indian Dance from kerala, one of the eight Indian Classical Dance forms. It is a very graceful dance meant to be performed as a solo recital by women. The term Mohiniyattam comes from the words "Mohini" meaning a woman who enchants onlookers and "aattam" meaning graceful and sensuous body movements. The word "Mohiniyattam" literally means "dance of the enchantress". There are two stories of the Lord Vishnuasuras (demons) away from the amrita(nectar of immortality) obtained during the churning of the palazhi or Ocean of milk. disguised as a Mohini. In one, he appears as Mohini to lure the

Mohiniyattm performer

In the second story Vishnu appears as Mohini to save Lord Shiva from the demon  Bhasmasura. The name Mohiniyattam may have been coined after Lord Vishnu, and the main theme of the dance is love and devotion to God, with usually Vishnu or Krishna being the hero. Devadasis used to perform this in temples. But it also has elements of Koothu and Kottayam in it. Mohiniyattam is a drama in dance and verse.

This dance which has influences and elements from two South Indian dance forms, the Bharatanatyam and Khathakali, was formulated in the court of king Swathi Tirunal by Vadivelu, one of the Thanjavore Quartet. The dance involves the swaying of broad hips and the gentle movements of erect posture from side to side. This is reminiscent of the swinging of the palms eaves and the gently flowing rivers which abound Kerala, the land of Mohiniyattam. There are approximately 40 different basic movements, known as 'atavukal', in Mohiniyattam.

The costume includes white sari embroidered with bright golden brocade (known as kasavu at the edges. The dance follows the classical text of  Hastha Lakshnadeepika, which has elaborate description of mudras(gestural expressions by the hand palm and fingers).