Shree Bharatalaya came into being in 1970 following an initiative jointly taken by K.Soundararaja Iyengar, Sudharani Raghupathy & Madurai N. Krishnan. 

The classes were started in a covered space available within the family compound on Luz Church Road in Mylapore. 
It was truly a modest beginning. But the concepts & the ideas that would make Shree Bharatalaya not only a pre-eminent but also a unique institution of learning were developed & introduced even then. 

The aim would be to go beyond providing instruction in dance & music to assisting broader human development, so that Shree Bharatalaya's graduates would be not only competent dancers or musicians but cultured individuals as well. Visits to places of architectural & sculptural interest like temples, museums etc., would be used to serve the larger purpose. 

With this aim in mind, students would be selected after careful tests to ascertain their potential & aptitude. Only those showing interest in pursuing a general education(in regular schools & colleges) would be taken in as students. 

There would be no guarantee of an arangetram or rangapravesam. Art should be pursued for art's sake. 
The emphasis would be on quality rather than quantity. The number of students at any time would be limited. 

Thus: 
In addition to compositions of the Tanjavur Quartet & others which form the core of the Thanjavur tradition of Bharatanatyam, the students learn to sing & perform virtually all the compositions for dance created by Madurai N.Krishnan. In addition to dance & music, students would be taught Sanskrit & Telugu languages. Furthermore, they would be encouraged to learn all aspects of presenting a dance programme, like stage-craft & makeup, costume designing & production,and self-adornment prior to performances. They would be given guidance as well in regard to aesthetics & artistic values. Senior students would be taught nattuvangam also. Thus the students would learn the art of music & dance in their entirety rather than the performance aspects alone, & learn them in the wider context of the arts in general. 

All the students learn to perform special exercises based on the Martha Graham technique. These exercises, taught by Sudharani Raghupathy herself, are aimed at making the dancers' bodies more responsive & flexible, & at creating an understanding of the therapeutic value of dance itself.