kathak

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Kathak is one of the eight (8) major forms of Indian classical dances. The term Kathak is derived from the Vedic Sanskrit word ‘Katha’ which means ‘Story’, and ‘Kathakar’ which means ‘The Story-Teller’.  A Kathakar or Kathak Nrityakar or Kathak-Dancer tells various stories through a combination of manifold techniques of Nritt, Nritya, and Natya. A group of Kathak Dancers telling a story through Nritt (Footwork), Nritya (Dance), and Natya (Acting/Expressions) becomes a Classical Kathak Ballet.

Kathak is found in three distinct forms, called ‘Gharanas’ named after three cities - Jaipur, Banaras and Lucknow where the tradition of Kathak dance evolved.

The Light of Dance Academy teaches Kathak in depth in its purest form to preserve it's true and original essence of Indian ancient knowledge. In addition to Kathak dance demonstration aspect, we emphasize on Kathak theory, and vocabulary, pronunciations (Padanth on hands).  We have developed a systematic and well structural Kathak Course(s) Outline(s) by combining Kathak fundamentals and building-blocks, knowledge of yoga and meditation, and posture techniques and mudras (hand-symbols), and with a disciplined dance practice routine. We explain each dance piece separately to students. We share it’s origin, purpose, and how it evolved throughout the History. We translate dance boles in simple language for students of all ages to grasp the concept. Some students are naturally expressive and some need a little push to be expressive. Our approach is to provide all possible details of each dance piece to all our students so they grasp the ‘Ras-Bhava’ (Mood and expressions) behind the dance piece. We apply this approach to teach and enable our students to learn to be more expressive. 

Our Dance Academy provides comprehensive and personalized instructions!