Fun Fitness in Animal Kingdom
While many of us want our kids to learn kathak, few of us know what it is or entails. So, we had an in-depth chat with our kathak teacher – Riddhi Mapxencar, and put before her a few commonly asked questions about this dance form.
1. What is Kathak and where did it originate? To me, kathak is the most graceful of the eight major Indian classical forms and perhaps the only one to have originated in North India. The term kathak comes from the Vedic Sanskrit word katha, which means story and a kathakar is a storyteller or someone who performs a story. While kathak originally began in temples, where stories from religious texts were told in dance form, it was popularized by wandering kathakars. The dance form continued to evolve over time with the inclusion of various cultural elements and finally also found patronage in the courts of both Hindu and Muslim kingdoms. This is when kathak developed in its technical form. Many artists focussed on new techniques to dance around large spaces and formulated more complex compositions.
2. Today you are a certified kathak teacher, but what drew you to this classical dance form? I’ve always had a penchant for Indian classical dance. Even as a child, I was drawn to music with beats of the tabla or pakhawaj. I always thought kathak has purity and depth to it, and the more I immersed myself into learning this dance form, the more I discovered. Of course, the entire credit of my interest in this dance form goes to my Guru Shri Rajendra Chaturvediji who is a disciple of late Natraj Gopi Krishnaji.
3. How soon can my child start training for kathak? While you can start learning kathak at any age, a child shouldn’t start before the age of 5. Before that a child's body is not properly developed for the movements. At 5, they are more independent and don’t need parental assistance to understand the instructor.
4. What does a child need to wear to a kathak class and why? A child needs to wear a Kurta and chudidar. This attire gives a sense of fluid grace with offering comfort. Comfort is very important for a child or they will not pay attention. So the kurta should be a little loose and shouldn’t restrict movements.
5. What are the kathak gharanas? How different are they? As mentioned, kathak found its place in royal courts of both Hindu and Muslim kingdoms in North India. While kathak in Hindu courts focussed on the trend of abstract rhythmic patterns called Nrittanga, in Muslim courts the kathak trend shifted to expressive compositions called Nrityangas. These two trends developed into two schools or gharanas of kathak—the Jaipur Gharana and the Lucknow Gharana. At the same time another school called the Benaras Gharana emerged. This gharana gave importance to both expressions and rhythmic patterns in equal measure.
6. Which kathak gharana should my child follow? If you ask me, while each gharana brings its own style to kathak, the soul of the dance remains the same. Gharanas today draw inspiration from each other and according to me, today’s students need to do the same. They need to learn the nuances of every gharana and develop their own style.
7. What are the levels of kathak?
How long does it take to complete each level?
In total, kathak has seven levels. Some students might take 10-15 years to finish these levels of Kathak, some might finish them in seven years. It all depends on the amount of effort, time and energy a student wants to or can devote. But it will do us well to note that kids between ages 5 and 10 are taught very slowly and will take a longer time to complete all seven levels.
8. How will my child benefit from Kathak? The benefits are aplenty. Kathak makes a child mentally and physically stronger. It helps in overcoming stage fear and promotes confidence. It increases focus, concentration and memory, which in turn helps them study better. And last but not the least, it is an enjoyable fitness activity that mitigates lifestyle-related health problems like child obesity.
9. Is kathak only for girls? No way. All our popular gurus in the past and even in the present been men and women. There is a wrong notion that kathak is only for girls, while sports are for boys. These are gender biases towards this dance form that need to change. If a child shows interest in kathak, parents must encourage the child, irrespective of whether the kid is a girl or a boy.
10. Apart from classes, how many hours of riyaaz is required per day to master kathak? Firstly, we need to understand what riyaaz is. To simply put it, riyaaz is the practice of music or dance usually under the guidance of a teacher or guru. For kids, a 20-minute riyaaz every day is more than enough. For older dancers 45 minutes is good. But for those who take up kathak as a career, their riyaaz should be for 1 to 2 hours a day.
11. What according to you should be the basic qualities of a good dancer? A quest to learn and practice diligently and regularly practise. Often, it is observed that some students procrastinate riyaaz sessions and these learning gaps eventually show. So, when I see a good dancer, I know that he or she has worked very hard to be who they are.
12. What are the terms used in kathak and what do they mean? Oh-ho, we might have to write a book for that (she laughs).
13. Ok, then just give us a few common words and their meaning So, there are chakkars, which often refers to spins, hastaks which mean gestures or hand movements, tatkaar which refer to footwork and abhinaya, meaning expressions.
14. What advice would you give to kids who want to become kathak dancers? Kids these days are always in a hurry. So, my advice to them would be chill. Don’t chase speed or try to dance faster than you can. What matters is doing each movement properly. And that can only come with focus and riyaaz. My guru always says "you don't need to be a born talent to dance Kathak. You just need to be a hard worker who will practice it."