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Best Schools in India with Performing Arts & Creative Programs

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Best Schools in India with Performing Arts & Creative Programs

Top Indian schools offering music, dance, drama, and creative learning

The arts of music, dance, drama, and visual arts have traditionally been at the very centre of Indian culture. However, for a number of years now, the arts have been relegated to the sidelines of mainstream education. The arts have been considered “hobbies,” something not to be taken up seriously as an option for growth. This has been gradually turning around over the last decade. The questions have begun to be asked differently about the school: “What if creativity is not something you do outside of school but at the very centre of school?”

The demand for the best schools with performing arts in India has been increasing because of this. These are the kinds of schools where performing arts are not something to be given as an addendum to the education provided. These are the kinds of schools where performing arts become an integral part of the whole learning experience. Many of these kinds of schools also involve collaborations and performances in order to give the right platform to the kids to develop as artists. Organisations like Skoodos are involved in promoting this.

In this particular article, emphasis is placed on understanding an approach towards the performance arts offered in schools in India and factors that parents must consider while choosing schools that encourage creativity and artistic expression.

The arts, whether it be music, dance, drama, or visual arts, are and always have been central to the culture of India. However, for a number of years, the arts have been relegated to the sidelines of mainstream education. The arts are viewed as “hobbies,” something that should not be taken seriously in terms of development opportunities. However, there has been a shift in the last ten years, and questions are being asked in a different way regarding the nature of the school: What if creativity is not something that happens outside of school but in the heart of school?

 

Why the Performing Arts Are Important in Modern Education

The value of the performing arts in education

However, it is the need of the hour to highlight the importance of performing arts education at the school level within the context of India.

Skills Learned in Art Are Used for a Lifetime

Research has shown repeatedly that music, theatre, and dance have an important and positive impact on the development of the following:

  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Confidence in oneself and presence on the
  • Self-
  • Motor Coordination
  • Memory and Concentration
  • Memory
  • Teamwork and Collaboration
  • The
  • Cultural Sensitivity
  • Language Development
  • The
  • Creativity & Problem-Solving

In fact, there have been studies that have found that exposure to rhythm and music at a young age can lead to more acute forms of mathematics, and theatre helps to develop empathy and perspective, which will be very useful to have in the years to come.

In this particular article, emphasis is placed on understanding an approach towards performing arts schools in India and the factors that are taken into consideration by parents while choosing schools that encourage creativity and artistic expression.

 

The Move Towards Holistic and Arts-Integrated Education

The trend towards

The NEP 2020 (National Education Policy) brought arts-integrated schools into the limelight in India, where schools are encouraged to introduce more interdisciplinary learning where concepts are delivered through artistic expressions. This opens new avenues for schools to integrate history through theatre, languages through stories, and geography through art.

Creative Disciplines Promote Well-being

In a world where children are increasingly subjected to heightened levels of anxiety and pressure to perform, the value of creative programs as a psychological shield for children cannot be underestimated. Playing music and dancing engage the brain's pleasure centres, allowing children to express themselves through non-competitive activities.

Parents have now realised that creative resilience is as important as academic achievement.

 

What Constitutes an Arts-Driven School?

Many schools boast of providing “music and dance” education, while very few schools have a performance-based arts environment. The best schools in India with music and creative courses have a few characteristics that are common among them:

1. Curriculum Integration

Not hobby classes once a week, but learning routes that evolve and develop from one year to the next.

 

2. Experienced and Committed Faculty

Trained musicians, dancers, and artists, and theatrical professionals, for whom art is a craft, not a hobby.

 

3. Studios and Infrastructure

Dance floors, Acoustic rooms, Black box theaters, Recording labs, Galleries, Performance halls.

 

4. Performance Opportunities

Annual productions, showcases, inter-school festivals, and professional collaborations.

 

5. Student Choice & Exploration

Different disciplines are offered without early specialisation.

 

6. Academic Validation

Credits, transcripts, portfolios, or evaluations of IB/MYP/IG

The schools that meet the criteria discussed above are some of the best in India when it comes to performing arts, music, and creativity because they produce students who feel confident in their creative and academic space.

 

Frequently Cited Boards on Arts Education at the

If parents are specifically searching for the best-performing arts schools in India, it becomes important to understand the board. Various boards offer varying levels of support to creative subjects:

 

1. IB (International Baccalaureate)

Most supportive of arts integration

  • Obama,
  • MYP and DP offer coursework evaluation in Visual and Performing Arts
  • Effective for portfolio and global uses

     

2. IGCSE / Cambridge

  • Offers Music, Drama, Art & Design as examinable subjects
  • Promotes studio-based practice and criticism

     

3. CBSE

  • More arts choices after NEP, with music and arts electives
  • However, certain top schools under the CBSE now partner with art academies outside

     

4. CISCE / ICSE

  • Famous for a balanced curriculum with arts flexibility at many schools

The questions that most often arise in the minds of parents are,
“Are there CBSE schools that have a strong performing

Yes – although this is institution-specific, not solely board-related.

 

Frequently Cited Boards on Arts Education at the

If parents are specifically searching for the best-performing arts schools in India, it becomes important to understand the board. Various boards offer varying levels of support to creative subjects:

 

1. IB (International Baccala

Most supportive of arts integration

  • Obama,
  • MYP and DP offer coursework evaluation in Visual and Performing Arts
  • Effective for portfolio and global uses

     

2. IGCSE / Cambridge

  • Offers Music, Drama, Art & Design as examinable subjects
  • Promotes studio-based practice and criticism

     

3. CBSE

  • More arts choices after NEP, with music and arts electives
  • However, certain top schools under the CBSE now partner with art academies outside

     

4. CISCE / ICSE

  • Famous fora  balanced curriculum with arts flexibility at many schools

The questions that most often arise in the minds of parents are,
“Are there CBSE schools that have a strong performing

Yes – although this is institution-specific, not solely board-related.

 

How to Choose a School with Strong Creative Programs: A Parent’s Guide?

The question parents commonly struggle with is:

"How do I pick the right school for a creative child?"

Here are some useful criteria:

 

1. Ask About Infrastructure

Does the school have:

  • Dance studios?
  • Music labs?
  • Theatres?
  • Instruments and Equipment?
  • Black box or mini auditorium?

     

2. Researching the Faculty

The
Music, theatre, and visual arts classes? Who is responsible for teaching

Schools that have strong programs publish biographies of their instructors.

 

3. Explore Past Performances

Shows and musicals, as well as annual day performances, recitals and competitions, offer a lot of insight

 

4. Check Student Pathways

Are arts pursued by college students?
Are the colleges of film, design, theatre, music, or liberal arts where the alumni go?

 

5. Look for Integration, Not Isolation

Steer clear of schools that offer arts programs only after school or on the weekend.

 

6. Understand Assessment

Are there form, critique, coursework, and portfolio components?

 

7. Ask About Collaborations

Having partnerships with external academies or studios helps.

The existence of platforms such as Skoodos has been an essential factor in ensuring parents are informed on how the concept of arts education and leadership is understood in schools, an aspect that was dependent on hearsay in the past.

 

Why Creative-Forward Schools Are Growing in India

There are three main forces that are causing this shift:

 

1. The Creative Economy

Such sectors as filmmaking, animation, gaming, music production, digital content production, advertising and design have now become major employers.

 

2. Future Skills Demand

The World Economic Forum identifies creativity as one of the skills with the highest value in the future.

 

3. Mental Health Awareness

The arts are proven methods for the management of emotions and for the development of resilience.

 

Best Schools with Performing Arts in India (2025 Overview)

Even though this guide isn’t a ranking platform for schools, here are the top schools offering music and arts education under CBSE and IB syllabuses in India:

  • In the timetable, arts should be included as an integral subject
  • Hire specialized faculty
  • Provide performance domains
  • Promote external qualifications like Trinity Music, ABRSM, or ISTD, etc.
  • Fostering creative pursuits launched by students

Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad top the list, but there are very good creative boarding schools in Pune, Ooty, Dehradun, and Darjeeling as well.

Why It Matters to Creative Kids

India has children singing in kitchens, writing stories in notebooks, drumming on tables, dancing between pieces of furniture, and telling character stories without audiences. Conventional education systems stifle such desires for the sake of passing examinations. Creative schools, on the other hand, encourage such desires and hone them into skills and allow children to dream about futures that lie outside the confines of engineering and medical sciences.

Such communities, for example, Skoodos, have been crucial in transforming the mindset of the parents, honouring students who think differently, and encouraging schools to accommodate the artistic identities of students.

 

Conclusion

Arts in education are not an indulgence, but rather an instrument of interpretation through which children make sense of their surroundings. The best educational institutions with arts in India have demonstrated that arts, in the form of music, dance, theatre, and visual arts, serve as catalysts in education rather than hindrances.

With the modernisation of the education ecosystem in accordance with NEP 2020 in the coming years, the future is clearly with those institutions which have the ability to integrate rigour and imagination and discipline and expression. In this journey, such environments as Skoodos will play an important role in emphasising the need for holistic education with arts integration and making parents realise that creativity is not something extra-curricular – it is crucial.

 

FAQs

1. What are the best schools for performing arts in India?

Schools in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad have good programs. Most international and IB schools have good arts programs.

 

2. Are music and dance subjects taught in schools in India?

Yes. IB, IGCSE, and some CBSE schools offer examinable subjects in drama, visual arts, and music.

 

3. What are the best schools for artistic students in India?

Arts infrastructure, portfolio assessments, and specialised staff are ideal in schools that have creative students.

 

4. How can I select a school that emphasises the arts and music?

Verify the quality of the faculty, the design of their curriculum, their past performances, and their facilities, such as recording studios and theatres.

 

5. Are there any CBSE schools with a good performing arts department?

Yes. While IB schools lead the way in this area, a number of CBSE schools are also improving their arts education options in the wake of NEP.

 

6. Do IB schools in India emphasise the arts?

Definitely, IB is among the most arts-supportive programs around the world, and it offers MYP and DP routes for arts specialisation.

 

 


Published on: 24 Jan 2026
Skoodos
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