Kathak..an art

I must say being a trained classical dancer, I was really hurt to see all wrong steps and movements in today's episode. Nothing, absolutely nothing I found correct in the dances of Parul or Sara. And I am pretty sure that if any of the viewers have a classical background in dance will agree to me.
Just wanted to share some information about the main dance art on which the Nritya Mahotsav is based upon...Kathak it is called...

This style from northern India has gained immense popularity today. It is known for its sparkling footwork, fast whirling movements and subtle abhinaya or mimetic dance. It almost never fails to capture the audience and this ability is probably because of its long history in the courts of emperor's and kings.

The word Kathak is derived from the name given to its practitioners 'Kathakars'. Katha meaning story and it's practitioners being those who told these stories. They told stories from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and other puranas. These practitioners were taught by temple priests who were well versed in dance and music.

The most well known guru and performer of the Kathak style today is Guru Birju Maharaj. His mastery of the style and efforts with which he spread its popularity all over the world make him unique in his field. He comes from a long lineage of dance guru's of Kathak and today his students are themselves good performers and teachers. The other famous gurus are the late Guru Durga Lal, (late)Guru Gopi Krishna, Sitara Devi, Guru Kumudini Lakhia and Uma Sharma.

Contemporary stage has quite a few stalwarts like Saswati Sen, Shovana Narayan, and Uma Dogra. In Bombay the established teachers and gurus are Sarang Sisters and Damayanti Joshi.

You are right about the steps or even the chakkars made by Parul or Sara weren't correct. I can at least reconcile with Sara, but Parul? She definitely was a disappointment coz she claims herself to be a trained dancer.

Originally posted by: vishmewell

You are right about the steps or even the chakkars made by Parul or Sara weren't correct. I can at least reconcile with Sara, but Parul? She definitely was a disappointment coz she claims herself to be a trained dancer.

You are right..I dont want to start a comparison, but I was really disappointed and even closed my eyes after seeing some shoulder movements. They are not even close to what it should be. I hope the production house appointed a good choreographer to train both of them. They could have used Komolika Guhathakurta, who is playing Guruma to do that job. She is a great classical dancer.

Hi Mister ... wattcha doin? ... 😲 ....??

Originally posted by: vishmewell

You are right about the steps or even the chakkars made by Parul or Sara weren't correct. I can at least reconcile with Sara, but Parul? She definitely was a disappointment coz she claims herself to be a trained dancer.

Chakkar is the main thing in Kathak. Also when Panditji used to teach us, the first lesson we got was to use hand and eyes moving together . we used to be given example that as we write, out hand and eyes move together, same is the case in dance also...
it was really very disappointing...

Thanks ice_thinker..appreciated..

You have chosen the right pic, the first one is the Kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj

I must say Sadhana's steps in the kitchen were graceful. Hopefully she did get some training from Komolika

Originally posted by: vishmewell

I must say Sadhana's steps in the kitchen were graceful. Hopefully she did get some training from Komolika

I agree...her steps in the kitchen were better than her movements in GuruMa's house. Lets wait for the final event. Hopefully there will be full justice to this dance event.

Originally posted by: vishmewell

I must say Sadhana's steps in the kitchen were graceful. Hopefully she did get some training from Komolika

actualy, her interaction with Kamalika improved the steps a little bit, though I am not at all satisfied, I think there should be more professionalism...