BENGALURU: The world is reinventing in many different ways, thanks to the ongoing pandemic. But no matter how modern things become, it is still important to know your past, believes Kuchipudi guru Vyjayanthi Kashi. And so, to spread the knowledge of Indian mythology through dance, Kashi, who is the founder of Shambhavi School of Dance, is coming up with a one-year online course.
“Our Vedas or mythological stories have been the bed rock for all Indian dance forms. Dancers tell stories through their art. So they need to know the characters and their background well or else they will just copy their teacher without understanding the basics,” she explains. And it isn’t just enough to know the overall story of Lord Rama or Lord Krishna. A dancer should know the minute details of the story as well, says Kashi, who adds, “For example, if someone is performing the birth of Krishna and does not know that he was born in prison, then how will they get the mannerisms right? These details lead to many sub-stories that give a context for bigger ones.”
Even though the course caters to three different levels, a dancer would still need some experience too. “I decided to go for an advanced level course because senior artistes will get the terminology and the concepts. Teaching is a very personal experience. I would prefer teaching beginners in person because online classes have the risk of learning going wrong,” says Kashi. The artiste with 35 years of experience is venturing into the online teaching space for the first time.
Wishing to start the classes as close as possible to Guru Poornima, which falls on July 5, she settled for July 19 as the suitable date to begin. “Every year for Guru Poornima, we have something called the ‘Mulam’ – a seminar and dance festival based on the guru-shishya parampara. We didn’t want to break the tradition,” says Kashi, who will be joined by her daughter and disciple Prateeksha Kashi for help with the classes.