Performing Arts is one of the most creative arts fields. Be it music, dance, acting or story writing, all of them involve a creative and intelligent expression of feelings and emotions. Unlike other creative fields, it has a greater involvement in the matter as the medium of speech is the person itself. Though several best performing arts colleges have been offering courses for a very long time, it is now; they are becoming considerably popular among the youth.

Those with a natural flair for expressing their thoughts with creativity have an edge to pursue this career.  Further, a degree course in this field will help you hone your skills. It will enable you to work as a professional in the field of your interest with increased opportunities and exposure. That is the reason; students are now looking at these courses as a professional degree course rather than a mere hobby.

Having a degree in performing arts will open various career avenues for you.

Moreover, it is equally important to choose the right college as learning the skills from a well-experienced faculty with latest technologies will give a boost to your career. In general, taking admission in any of the Performing Arts courses does not require any particular qualification. Anyone with talent and interest in any of its field can successfully pursue a career in this area.

This article notifies the top performing arts colleges in India that are operating since a very long time.

Top Performing Arts Colleges In India

1. National School of Drama (NSD)
2. Film and Television Institute of India (FTII)
3. Centre for Performing Arts (Lalit Kala Kendra), Pune University
4. Roshan Taneja School of Acting
5. The Barry John Acting Studio
6. Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting Institute
7. The Music Academy
8. Amity School of Performing Arts
9. Calcutta School of Music
10. Gandharva Mahavidyalaya
11. National Institute of Kathak Dance, Kathak Kendra

Given below are the details pertaining these performing arts colleges:

• National School of Drama (NSD)

NSD is one of the elite theater training institutions of the world and one of its kind in India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was established in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi. Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Shahrukh Khan, Satish Kaushik, Om Puri, and Irrfan Khan are some of the prominent alumni of NSD.

Location: Bahawalpur House, 1, Bhagwandas Road, Mandi House, New Delhi, Delhi – 110001.

Contact: 011-23382821.

For official website: click here

• Film and Television Institute of India (FTII)

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FTII Formerly known as The Film Institute of India was established in 1960 on the former Prabhat Studio premises at Pune. It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Rajkumar Hirani, Shabana Azmi, Jaya Bhaduri Bachchan, Subhash Ghai, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Shatrughan Sinha are among the few notable alumni of FTII.

Location: No.11, Telephone Exchange, Law College Road, Deccan Gymkhana, Pune – 411004.

Contact: 020-25431817 / 25433016 / 25430017

For official website: click here

• Centre for Performing Arts (Lalit Kala Kendra), Pune University

The Centre for Performing Arts (Pune University), popularly known as the Lalit Kala Kendra, was established in 1987. The center offers courses in Performing Arts on a self-supportive basis.

Location: Lalit Kala Kendra (Gurukul), University of Pune, Pune-411007.

Contact: 020-25692182

For official website: click here

• Roshan Taneja School of Acting

The Roshan Taneja School of Acting is universally acknowledged to be one of the top acting schools in Mumbai as well as in India. Roshan Taneja (former Head of the Acting Department FTII, Pune) founded the institution in 1976. Some of the famous alumni of this school are Rani Mukherjee, Ajay Devgan, Anil Kapoor, Aamir Khan, and Ranbir Kapoor.

Location: Bungalow No. 29, S.V.P. Nagar, Near Versova Telephone Exchange,

MHADA Andheri (W), Mumbai – 400053.

Contact: 022-32226043 / 022-32080115, +91-8898012356.

For official website: click here

• The Barry John Acting Studio

The Barry John Acting Studio (BJAS) was formerly named as Imago Acting School was initially opened in 1999, in Noida, U.P (Film City), and was later shifted to Mumbai. Manoj Bajpai, Freida Pinto, Jacqueline Fernandez, Richa Chadda, Varun Dhawan, and Arjun Kapoor are some of the noted alumni of BJAS.

Location: 301 Nanak Chambers, Opp. Fun Republic New Link Road, Andheri West, Mumbai – 400053.

Contact: +91-9967977966 / 67, 022-26742192.

For official website: click here

• Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting Institute

The Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting Institute was formed by Kishore Namit Kapoor, an “A” grade radio and television artist. It’s been a long time since the institute is operating in Mumbai. Prominent actors such as Arjun Singh, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Sonu Sood, and Sonali Bendre are the products of this institute.

Location: Vasundhara Society No.95, Unit D-4/5/6 Mhada, S.V. Patel Nagar, Andheri-West,  Mumbai – 400053.

Contact:  022 – 26361626, 26398073

For official website: click here

• The Music Academy

The Music Academy, Madras was founded in 1928 as an outcome of the music conference that was held in conjunction with the All India Congress Session in Madras city.  It was conceived to be the institution that would set the standard for Carnatic music. Besides, it played a vital role in the revival of the Indian classical dance form-Bharatnatyam.

Location: New No. 168 (Old No. 306), T.T.K. Road, Chennai – 600 014.

Contact: 044-28112231 / 044-28115162

For official website: click here

• Amity School of Performing Arts

The Amity School of Performing Arts is a part of Amity University offering several courses in music and dance such as Bachelor of Music – Classical Dance, Bachelor of Music – Classical Hindustani Vocal. One can choose from certificate, diploma, and degree courses as per their interest.

Location: Amity University Campus, Sector-125, Express Highway, Noida, Uttar Pradesh –  201303.

Contact : 95120-2432780 / 85

For official website: click here

• Calcutta School of Music

The Calcutta School of Music was established in 1915  by Phillpe Sandre. It is one of the premier institutions of India, in the field of Western Classical music and Contemporary classical music.

Location: 6B Sunny Park, Kolkata-700019.

Contact: 033-2461 5375

For official website: click here

• Gandharva Mahavidyalaya

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Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi, affiliated to Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, Vashi, Mumbai, was established in 1939 by Pandit Vinay Chandra Maudgalya. The institution imparts theoretical and practical training in various branches of music and dance, namely,  Hindustani Music, Hindustani Music Instrumental, and  Indian Classical Dance.

Location: No.212, Deen Dayal Upadhaya Marg, New Delhi, Delhi 110002.

Contact: 011-23233791 / 011-23238784.

For official website: click here

• National Institute of Kathak Dance, Kathak Kendra

The National Institute of Kathak Dance, also known as Kathak Kendra, is a Constituent Unit of Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, Under Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India. It was established in 1964. The Kendra offers two main streams of training in Kathak dance – the elementary and the advance course.

Location: Kathak Kendra, 2 San Martin Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110021.

Contact: 011-2687 4251 / 52 / 53 / 35

For official website: click here

The above mentioned best performing arts colleges have given several talented and eminent artists-performers to our country. Many of them had been the legends in their respective fields and are making their mentors proud of them.

*Note: The best peforming arts colleges in India listed in the above article were chosen on the frequency with which they featured in ‘Top Colleges’ lists, national and local, compiled by different organizations. The selected colleges in no way reflect partisanship of any form, by Edunuts or its writers.