indian dance school presents kathak rangmanch pravesh of
TRANSCRIPT
Indian Dance School
presents
Kathak Rangmanch
Pravesh of
Gauri Midha
Guru : Gauri Jog
Student : Gauri Midha
Saturday, July 24, 2021
Fairfield Arts Center ,
Fairfield, OH
Hosted by Midha
Family
Presenting Stree Shakthi
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Padhant and Vocal - Gauri Jog
Singing - Jai Sovani
Tabla - Manpreet Bedi
Keyboard - Hitesh Master
Emcees -Sonia Midha, Priya Midha,
Manav Midha
Stage Manager - Isha Jog
Stage Volunteer -, Ruchi Patel, Aahana
Shedge, Sanyukta Vinesh
Live Streaming – Hari VattyamPPT – Mamatha Guddimala
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Guru Gauri Jog
Guru Gauri Jog is an Indian Classical Dancer
and Choreographer. She has been practicing
Kathak dance since 1975. Her command over
rhythm, powerful pirouettes and crisp footwork
has made her one of the finest exponents of this
dance style.
Her acclaimed creations include Krishna Leela,
Shakuntala, Jhansi Ki Rani, Kathak Yatra, East
meets West, Fire - the Fiery Tale, Kathak,
Bollywood, Ramayan, Stree Shakthi among
others.
She brings to life traditional “art of
storytelling” through the technical elements in
Kathak. Her experiments with combining
Kathak with Flamenco, Bharatanatyam, Odissi,
Mexican and Ballet have won many accolades.
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Gauri Midha
Gauri began learning Kathak when
she was only 6 years old with Guru
Rosanna Bandyopadhyay.
She performed in many local dance
shows and competitions.
When Gauri was 11 years old, she
moved to learning online with Guru
Gauri Jog.
Gauri has completed seven levels of
examination and will soon take her
eight-year exam.
Because of her passion for dance,
rhythm, and expressive story-telling,
Gauri has choreographed and taught
many dances in her school and in the
Indian community.
She has taken this passion and
presented it in other ways as well—
through musicals, tennis, and even
cheerleading.
This fall, Gauri will be attending
Tufts University in Boston, and will
pursue a double major in Chemical
Engineering and Economics.
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Journey to Rangmanch
Pravesh
Kathak Rangmanch Pravesh is
similar to a graduation ceremony
signifying a student’s
transformation into a
professional dancer who
displays her Guru’s (teacher’s)
teachings.
Gauri is dancing today to live
music, showcasing her full
Kathak repertoire.
The word Kathak has been
derived from the word Katha
which means a story. Thus
Kathak means to tell a story.
It is an expressional dance form
in which nritta (pure dance) and
nritya abhinay (drama) are
interwoven through two
characteristics: rhythmic patterns
built on
metric cycles (taal) of beats such
as 16, 14, 10 along with graceful
body
movements and expressions.
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Nritta
The nritta (pure dance)
aspect is demonstrated
by rhythmic sequences
and compositions called
todas, tukdas, paran
composed in various
Taals which are rhythmic
only and do not illustrate
any meaning..
Ghungroos (ankle bells)
The dancer creates
complex
rhythmic sound patterns
with the
ghungroos by controlled
tapping
of the feet.
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Tatkaar (footwork)
One of the main features of
the Kathak,
is tapping of the feet at
increasing
tempo and ending in a
crescendo on
the final beat ‘Sam’.
Thaat
Thaat is the basic stance
which showcases the
gracefulness of a dancer
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Chakkars
(pirouettes or spins)
Chakars are another
trademark
of Kathak. All
sequences are
punctuated or ended
with Chakars.
Nritya Abhinay
The nritya abhinay
(mime) aspect is the
interpretive
illustration of
poetic lines, lyrics
and musical
compositions, by
the dancer, through
graceful hand
gestures, beautiful
body movement
and dramatic facial
expressions.
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1. Ganesh Vandana
Taal: Ektaal Song: Jai Deva
Ganesha Namo
All auspicious occasions begin
with Ganapati pooja. Ganesh or
Ganapati the god of intellect,
knowledge, and wisdom, and
remover of obstacles in life is
praised and worshipped in this
dance. He gives strength to the
dancer to overcome difficulties
and shows a path towards
progress, prosperity and
happiness.
PROGRAM
Pooja: Worship Ganapati & Natraj
by Guru Gauri Jog & Gauri Midha
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2. Meerabai
Taal: Keherva Song: Paga Ghungroo
Bandh Meera
Since childhood, Meerabai
considered Lord Krishna as her
lifelong friend, lover, and husband.
Not understanding the pureness of
that love, her family brushed it aside.
She was married to Raja Bhoj Raj
against her wishes. After his death,
society subjected her to hostility.
However, Meerabai remained
devoted, and poured her feelings into
pure devotion and unconditional love.
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3. Makhan Chori
Taal: Keherva (Gat Bhav)
One of the most popular
mother-child stories is the
story of Yashoda and Krishna.
A mother’s love for her
children is selfless and holds a
special place in a child's heart.
The perfect example is the
divine relationship between
Yashoda ma and Shri Krishna.
This dance will showcase how
a mother’s love for her child is
immense, no matter what
happens.
4. Taal Dhamar
Taal Dhamar is one of the many
rhythmic metric cycles. This taal
consists of 14 beats grouped
asymmetrically into a 5-2-3-4
pattern. This piece starts with a
shloka in worship of Devi
Saraswati Goddess of knowledge
and art. Gauri will present, tatkar,
toda, paran, tehai and palte in Taal
Dhamar showcasing the Nritta
aspect of Kathak.
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5. Jhansi Ki Rani- Laxmibai
Taal :Keherva Song :Khoob
Ladi Mardani
Rani Laxmibai was a fearless
queen who pursued studies as
well as horse riding, fencing
and shooting. As a queen of
Jhansi, her married life was
short as her King died
unexpectedly.
It fell upon the Rani to rise
over the grief and face the
onslaught of the British
invasion. She crowned her
adopted young son as the King
and built an army to fight the
British army and protect the
people of Jhansi.
When the British came to kill
her son, she fought valiantly
while carrying her infant son
on her back and was badly
injured in battle.
She led him to safety but
succumbed to her injuries
INTERMISSION
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6. Sargaam
Taal: Jahptaal Raag :Pooriya
Dhanashree
Sargam is a way of assigning syllables to
names of the notes in a raag or a musical
scale.
The sargam syllables are: Sa, Re, Ga, Ma,
Pa, Dha, Ni and Sa in the octave, or you
may know it as Do, Re Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti,
Do.
Sargam is a beautiful dance composed on
these musical notes with graceful
movements and spins.
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7. Piya Bawari
Gauri first danced to this song
when she was 9 years old. So,
when she was given the
opportunity to choreograph her
own dance, she thought Piya
Bawari (composed by
R.D Burman and sung by Asha
Bhonsle) would make a perfect
full circle moment.
8. Laadki
Song: Laadki and Chunar
The word “Laadki” is a fond
way of addressing a
daughter. This song, by
Sachin Jigar, captures a
beautiful conversation
between a father and his
daughter. The Chunar song
showcases a mother's
unconditional love. This
performance is dedicated to
Gauri’s Nani and Nanu who
are dearly missed. Nani and
Nanu taught their grandkids
to spread love, kindness and
compassion around the
world.14
9. Tarana
Taal: Ek Taal Raag: Mia Ki Todi
During a Tarana, the beauty of the
rhythm is explained through
various movements,
combinations of rhythmic phrases,
and stances.
The structure consists of a main
melody, usually short, repeated
many times, with variation and
elaboration.
Usually, the meaningless syllables
“dar-dar” or “dir-dir” are recited
multiple times.
This tarana will consist of those
syllables along with parans, todas,
and tatkar interwoven into the
dance.
Graduation Ceremony
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Our sincere acknowledgement to Gauri’s Nani and
Massi for helping with costumes and jewelry in
such hard times
Heartfelt Gratitude to everyone!
We are truly honored and humbled by the love and
support we have received from all of our friends
and family.
Many of you have helped us with various aspects
of planning and have done it so wonderfully that it
is hard to express our feelings. Thank you so much
for always being there for us .
Wishing you the best!
Midha Family
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