This thesis explores the relevance of the study of dance images found on ancient Indonesian temples in relation to the process of development of the performing arts in the areas concerned. Dance is seen ~~linked with the spread of the Hindu/Buddhist religions from India to South East Asia, in this instance Indonesia. The formal and technical principles of dance would appear to be rooted in an aesthetic theory directly related to Hindu/Buddhist metaphysics, whereby all the arts and in particular the art of dance and sculpture are viewed as parallel. On this assumption, dance images, including reliefs and freestanding sculpture ,are yet another powerful visual expression of the conceptual parallelism underlined by such theories, represented by the Indian sastraic tradition. The function of dance images, by their very nature appears to be multiple. From a dance perspective through them information can be obtained on concurrent forms of performance; from the point of view of art history they contribute additional information on style and stylistic parallels or affinities of one monument with another. In this sense they bridge the gap between performing and visual arts, which in any case, at least in terms of theory, was never particularly demarcated within the spectrum of Hindu aesthetics. The thesis is divided into two parts. Part One deals with the historical background, examining issues such as the problem of Indian influence in South East Asia and Indonesia in particular. Dance and the performing arts are seen as playing an important role in terms of transmission of religious values and ideology and this role is highlighted. Links between the archipelago and particular Indian regions are explored; in Part Two, the cultural and religious influence or connection is examined and a detailed methodology for the analysis of dance images is presented, by giving an account of the tradition of the Indian sastra-s and their codification of dance technique. An analysis of dance images from selected sites in Sumatra, Java and Bali is then submitted, with cross reference to some Indian ones, thought to have had a connection with Indonesia, in terms of stylistic parallelism. In the Conclusion, the threads are gathered, bringing all parts into relation: dance images are thus seen as linked with the development of the performing arts, charting in fact this development, and playing a not inconsiderable role in the process of socalled "Indianisation".