This book is fabulous. It covers Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Kathakali, Mohini Attam, Manipuri, and Kuchipudi. There are lots of beautiful photos, close-up and full-length, of various dancers. I spent much time just admiring the beautiful costumes, folds, jewelry, and expressions. If you are interested, as I was, about who is pictured in the book, here's some artists of note: Balasaraswati, Malavika Sarukkai, Yamini Krishnamurti, VP Dhananjayan/Shanta, Mrinalini/Mallika Sarabhai, Leela Samson, Alarmel Valli, Birju Maharaj, Saswati Sen, Sharon Lowen, Kelucharan Mohapatra, Deepti Omcheri Bhalla, Bimbawati, and Shobha Naidu.
I was surprised by the detail given for each form regarding its history. There are lots of names and places explained, basic overviews given of the names of sections of a performance, discussions of the current state of each dance form, and more. I was extremely impressed with the way each dance form is covered in such detail yet so succinctly.
It's interesting that not all the top names in each of the dance forms are mentioned, a fact which the book admits in the preface with "many famous dancers do not find mention in this book, which mainly looks at trends rather than individuals."