Choreography

I was recently at a party and when I was introduced as a dancer, a little girl walked up to me and said she was learning the art form too. I was very delighted to know about her keen interest and I continued the conversation by asking her for how long she has been learning, who her teacher is, what style she is learning while she answered first 2 questions to the T, she was not sure about the last one. I think its very important to educate dance students about style as it has historical significance. Here are some of the popular styles:

 i. Kalakshetra Stlye,

ii. Melattur Style,

iii. Pandanallur Style,

iv. Mysore Style,

v. Vazhuvoor Style.

A lot of information about each of these styles are available on the internet. And it will be very useful to equip your child with such information.

Dancing in practice classes and dacing on the D-day has a lot of difference. When you are on the stage performing for an event, you are the centre of attraction to a vast audience. Thus, implement these tips to make your performance stand-out and worthwhile for the crowd.

1. Expressions: Keep a smiling face and enjoy your performance. This way, even if you forget a few steps people`s gaze will be fixed at your expressive face and they will not note your flaws.

2. Movements: Your hand and leg movements should be more defined and elaborate when on stage, so that even the last member of the audience sitting in the last row can see your movements. Do not restrict your movements, be free.

3. Tackle stage fear: If you have stage fear and get nervous in front of a large audience, then do not look into the faces of the people in the audience. Look far away on a distant object and enjoy your dance to keep stage fear away.

4. Manage: If you do forget some steps, do not stop dead in between the song, just move with the beats and wait to pick up from the next step. If you stand still, you will kill the entire performance and all your practice efforts will go down the drain.

5. Dress: Choose a costume/dress that you are comfortable in. Do not choose weird costumes that restric your movements and make you stiff on the stage. You need to be free on stage and not feel locked.

6. Dress rehearsal: This may not be possible all the time (especially for wedding sangeets) but you can always take time out before the performance to practice a few steps in your costume. This will give you an idea about how to dance while weraing a heavy dress (in sangeet functions especially).

7. Lip sing: Try to lip sing the songs that you are performing for since it makes it extra special that way. Guys can sing the men`s lyrics and vice versa. This will add more "feel" to your performance.

8. Energy: Give your 100% energy on stage. Don`t be lazy and stiff. Energetic dance is more fun than conscious dances. Live up every moment while dancing!

So, be confident and be yourself and the audience will ask you for "Once more" for sure.

Each dance has unique steps (even if many Bollywood choreographers like to combine different styles), and far from being random, these steps have very significant meanings. Bharatanatyam is a traditional Indian dance from the temples of Tamil Nadu in southern India. One of the most respected dance forms, a Bharatanatyam dance tells a story. 

In Indian mythology, there are three main gods: Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the protector) and Shiva (the destroyer). It is said that Shiva, who is also known as the lord of the dance, created Bharatanatyam.

We speak of culture as simplifying an all round development of human faculties. It has been said, "Science is curiosity about life, art is a wonder at life, philosophy is an attitude towards life and religion is reverence for life". True culture includes all these four aspects and a cultured man ought to show development along all these four lines. It is therefore obvious that education in aesthetics is as essential if not more than mere intellectual or physical education. Man can never be complete or balanced or harmonical unless his emotions are trained, developed and sublimated, and herein comes the need for introducing art in our educational curriculum as a compulsory subject. Classical Dance is the highest form of art. 

The true object of education is to develop a human personality in all its aspects. Any over emphasis on a particular aspect to the neglect of another may lead to a kind of lop-sided development which in the long run may do more harm than good. There was a time in our educational history when the emphasis was laid only upon the intellectual development of the student. In those days there was very little attention paid even to physical development. Later, they began to consider the importance of physical instruction so much so that one's proficiency in sports was given great weight in selecting candidates for certain appointments. But man is not merely his intellect and his physical body. He is much more. He has his emotions which play a more vital part in his development and the development of his nation than is ordinarily recognized. 

Unfortunately, the development of human emotions has not received that attention which is due to it in our educational institutions. In one sense it may be said that the present dead lock in world affairs is due to a large extent due to the lop-sided development of human personality referred to above. All emphasis was laid on head development while the heart of humanity was allowed to starve. It is this over-development of the head at the expense of the heart that has gone a long way to supply the psychological basis for our modern troubles. If there had been a balanced progress of the head and heart, human nature would have developed certain fundamental moral values, which would have made it impossible for the present world muddle to come about. It is, therefore, necessary that the heart development of the pupil should receive great attention at the hands of the educationalists. A great Chinese proverb says, "If you have two loaves, sell one and buy a lily". The implication is obvious. Do not concentrate your attention on only food and drink, but pay equal attention to the development of your aesthetic nature. 

The greatness or littleness of the nation in the future is to a very large extent, dependent on how the youth of today are trained. In the first place, they have to become cultured citizens; they must help our nations to express the best in her, along with her own lines and consistently with her special genius. The second idea at the back of an educational system properly organized must be to help the citizen to express himself as a unit of the nation to which he belongs. Each nation has a soul of its own which tries to express itself in several modes of thought and activity, and we are all, in one sense, only cells in that bigger organism. The standard culture of an eastern nation differs, in several essential points, from that of a western nation. And so in art, there is a great national art peculiar to India. There are some special features about Indian Classical dance, which distinguish it from other dances of the world. And if our youth are to be trained to be channels for the expression of our national consciousness, the training of dance we impart to them must be truly national, truly Indian in spirit. There is nothing to prevent an Indian from admiring or learning foreign dance, but then she must already have learnt Indian dance.

It has been said about Music that, "Music is the shorthand of emotion." (Leo Tolstoy) and "Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without." (Confucius). Similarly, about Dance it has been said that “Dancers are the messengers of the gods.” (Martha Graham) and “Everything in the universe has rhythm. Everything dances.” (Maya Angelou).

Music and Dance are the essential nature of mankind. It is, therefore, rather demeaning to talk of Benefits and Importance of Music and Dance. They are something beyond utilitarian importance. However, people do ask of benefits and importance of music and dance before taking classes.

So, for the benefit of such persons here are a few benefits of Music and Dance:

1. Music and dance increase intelligence.
2. Music and dance are great stress removers.
3. Music improves the ability of higher-level thinking.
4. The discipline of music and dance brings discipline to life.
5. Music and dance give great self-satisfaction and self confidence.
6. Music and dance bring name, fame and riches i.e. success in life.
7. Music and dance have social, emotional, and spiritual benefits and give happiness to life.
8. Music develops abstract reasoning necessary for academic success and mathematics and science.
9. Music and Dance can transport their practitioners and audience to a state of bliss akin to Union with God or Nirvana.
10. Dance has great health benefits. Dance builds endurance and stamina, releases toxins through sweating, may lower blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels and reduce heart rate and also help in weight loss. Dance is better than Gym Exercise because:

• Gym exercises and other physical fitness routines are monotonous and, therefore, boring. They are like playing football without a ball! While dance moves are interesting and creative.
• Dance gives happiness, reduces stress and teaches us a new art of living.
• Dance routines help build strong and flexible muscles with graceful body and movements. In fact, some forms of dance, like Zumba, burn more calories than Gym routines.
• Dance is a great way of socializing. It gives feeling of brotherhood/sisterhood. In dance one has to synchronize with other participants and it thus gives understanding of each other. Some dances like Waltz and Tango are great for socializing.
•  While Gym routines build specific body parts, dance is good for the whole body.