BENGALURU: An acclaimed Kathak Dancer Simran Godhwani and students from her institute Krshálá Dance Theatre will present the intricacies of Kathak rhythms in the city.
The Lucknow gharana performance will showcase Staccato, an interplay of rhythms with live musicians. Simran, founder and creative director of Krshálá Dance Theatre, says, “We will present the intricacies of rhythms. There are ones with eight beats, 12 beats and 14 beats and 16 beats.
I will perform the Dhamar taal with 12, 14 and 16 beat time cycles.” The school emphasises on the body postures and yoga. Simran says, “We follow Guru Shishya parampara and incorporate the old teachings of dance and yoga into our modules. The yogic postures are also incorporated into our performance.” About 30 students of age five to 45 years will perform on the invocations songs dedicated to Vishnu and Saraswati. Simran will also present an invocation to Shiva in the two-hour programme.
The theme of the show is elements of Kathak. Simran adds, “People usually perceive Lucknow Gharana to be only about grace due to its picturisation in the movies for years but it is not only that. Pt Birju Maharaj has created several patterns of rhythms which are exclusive to Lucknow gharana, such as, the one he created for horse riding. My performance will also showcase a few of his rhythms.
The compositions are from the Nature. In one, there is the gait of the cow and alertness of the deer and the cunningness of the lion.” Simran considers her first guru to be Murari Sharan Gupta, one of the leading disciples of legendary Kathak maestro Padma Vibhushan Pt Birju Maharaj based in Bengaluru. She’s been undergoing training from him from 15 years. Simran has been featured in the book Turning Points of Uncommon People by Anvita Bajpai, 2016 (IIT Kanpur & IIMB Alumni).
Ask what her turning point was and she says, “The time when I said yes to teaching Kathak to students.” Her students have participated in many local, national and international dance festivals, even at Prague and Bangkok and won prizes there. Born into a family of doctors and engineers, she also studied computer science and worked for a couple of years in a software company.
Simran and her students will perform on December 18, 6 pm at The Satya Sai Samskruthi Sadanam in Koramangala. For a dose of pure Lucknow Gharana Kathak dance with a twist, do attend this event. For more details contact on 8892061055 or 9886759716.