In ancient Bengal, dancing was popular entertainment. Courtesans and temple girls were required to be proficient in the art of dance prescribed by Bharata in his ‘Natysastra’. Popular forms of dancing were rendered at mundane celebrations and on other occasions by low-caste tribes Nats and Domnis (women of the Dom caste) who practiced dancing and singing as hereditary professions. In the middle ages, probably the institution of temple girls become outdated and class dancing was limited to courtesans. As a result dancing came to be looked down up on in respectable society. Some of the dances are (Britta, Chhau, Gambhira, tasu, Santhal, Lathi, karma, Bura, kali, Vrata, etc.)