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Other
topics can be tailored to suit individual residencies with
focus geared specifically to college level students of
theatre, dance, music, art history, religious studies, gender
or multi-cultural studies, as well as to general audiences of
adults or school children.
Introduction
to classical Indian dance
A
brief historical overview of 2000 years of dance. Explanation and demonstration of differences and
similarities of the major classical dance styles of India with
fundamentals of technique and dramatic expression shown
through movement phrases and full dances.
Introduction
to Odissi, Manipuri or Chhau
Similar
to above lecture-demonstration, with greater emphasis on one
style. Dance
workshop (master class) or lecture-demonstration.
Abhinaya
/ Dramatic Expression : The essence of Classical Indian Dance
To
touch the audience emotionally, to evoke rasa, the essence of
emotional experience, is the paramount aim of the dancer.
Hands, eyes, and facial expression have been codified
in an elaborate movement system. In ancient Sanskrit theater, the dance was also the
actor, communicating the moods and metaphysics of the epics.
The codification of gesture, as well as the
classifications heroes and heroines in various stages of love
and separation, are defined and demonstrated.
Rhythm
and Movement : How they relate in the classical Indian
tradition
Aimed
at music and dance students, the intricate rhythmic
variations, point and counterpoint, theme and variations of
Indian music structure are explored in its close relationship
to movement technique. Workshop
or Lec-Dem
Iconography
of classical Indian dance in stone and paint
Many
of the ancient temples of India are covered with relief
sculptures of dancers, dedicated to service in the gods.
Hundreds of poses cared in stone and illuminated in
miniature paintings and palm leaves can be brought to life in
the dance. Motifs,
design conventions and poetic images maintain a through line
in painting, sculpture and dance. This lecture-demonstration is aimed at art history
students.
Masked
Dance / Male Dance : Chhau Traditions of India
Based
on martial and folk traditions developed under royal
patronage, use of the mask significantly alters the impact of
the masked chhau from its non-masked form. Emphasis on torso and leg control makes Mayurbhanj
Chhau particularly useful for theater movement students,
Seraikella Chhau for mask work.
Workshop
for lec-dem
Divine
Aspects of Dance
Indian
classical dance genres evolved from a spiritual consciousness.
Text based dances communicate love, truth and beauty on
a metaphysical, rather than mundane plane. The western separation of sacred dance from religious
ritual and casting human love as profanely divergent from the
divine is absent in Indian tradition as it has evolved over
the millennia.
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