Arohan: Shaddarshan presented by Centre for Indian Classical Dance

By creating a scientific, codified framework for a movement repertoire for Kathak, ‘Arohan’ offers a new approach to Kathak that provides a comparable academic underpinning to that that Bharatanatyam already has.

As a North Indian classical dance form, Kathak evolved under the Mughals but was derided and declined in British colonial times. It grew out of a storytelling tradition of Kathakaars and a more improvisational form of art. As a result, it did not connect so much with the ‘Natyashastra’ the Sanskrit treatise that has codified Indian classical performing arts for the last two millennia. 

Learning from Dr Padmaja’s research and applying it to Kathak, develops the academic and scientific understanding that I can then share with my students. Her research into 'Natyashastra' has been innovative and influential in developing Bharatanatyam practice. By creating the model repertoire for Kathak around the yogIC practice of chakras I can give students the tools to channel this into their practice strengthening their movement vocabulary, supporting their creative development and paying forward to the next generation.