Indian Dance School

presents

Kathak Rangmanch

Pravesh of

Gauri Midha

Guru : Gauri Jog

Student : Gauri Midha

Saturday, July 24, 2021

Fairfield Arts Center ,

Fairfield, OH

Hosted by Midha

Family

Presenting Stree Shakthi

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Padhant and Vocal - Gauri Jog

Singing - Jai Sovani

Tabla - Manpreet Bedi

Keyboard - Hitesh Master

Emcees -Sonia Midha, Priya Midha,

Manav Midha

Stage Manager - Isha Jog

Stage Volunteer -, Ruchi Patel, Aahana

Shedge, Sanyukta Vinesh

Live Streaming – Hari VattyamPPT – Mamatha Guddimala

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Guru Gauri Jog

Guru Gauri Jog is an Indian Classical Dancer

and Choreographer. She has been practicing

Kathak dance since 1975. Her command over

rhythm, powerful pirouettes and crisp footwork

has made her one of the finest exponents of this

dance style.

Her acclaimed creations include Krishna Leela,

Shakuntala, Jhansi Ki Rani, Kathak Yatra, East

meets West, Fire - the Fiery Tale, Kathak,

Bollywood, Ramayan, Stree Shakthi among

others.

She brings to life traditional “art of

storytelling” through the technical elements in

Kathak. Her experiments with combining

Kathak with Flamenco, Bharatanatyam, Odissi,

Mexican and Ballet have won many accolades.

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Gauri Midha

Gauri began learning Kathak when

she was only 6 years old with Guru

Rosanna Bandyopadhyay.

She performed in many local dance

shows and competitions.

When Gauri was 11 years old, she

moved to learning online with Guru

Gauri Jog.

Gauri has completed seven levels of

examination and will soon take her

eight-year exam.

Because of her passion for dance,

rhythm, and expressive story-telling,

Gauri has choreographed and taught

many dances in her school and in the

Indian community.

She has taken this passion and

presented it in other ways as well—

through musicals, tennis, and even

cheerleading.

This fall, Gauri will be attending

Tufts University in Boston, and will

pursue a double major in Chemical

Engineering and Economics.

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Journey to Rangmanch

Pravesh

Kathak Rangmanch Pravesh is

similar to a graduation ceremony

signifying a student’s

transformation into a

professional dancer who

displays her Guru’s (teacher’s)

teachings.

Gauri is dancing today to live

music, showcasing her full

Kathak repertoire.

The word Kathak has been

derived from the word Katha

which means a story. Thus

Kathak means to tell a story.

It is an expressional dance form

in which nritta (pure dance) and

nritya abhinay (drama) are

interwoven through two

characteristics: rhythmic patterns

built on

metric cycles (taal) of beats such

as 16, 14, 10 along with graceful

body

movements and expressions.

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Nritta

The nritta (pure dance)

aspect is demonstrated

by rhythmic sequences

and compositions called

todas, tukdas, paran

composed in various

Taals which are rhythmic

only and do not illustrate

any meaning..

Ghungroos (ankle bells)

The dancer creates

complex

rhythmic sound patterns

with the

ghungroos by controlled

tapping

of the feet.

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Tatkaar (footwork)

One of the main features of

the Kathak,

is tapping of the feet at

increasing

tempo and ending in a

crescendo on

the final beat ‘Sam’.

Thaat

Thaat is the basic stance

which showcases the

gracefulness of a dancer

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Chakkars

(pirouettes or spins)

Chakars are another

trademark

of Kathak. All

sequences are

punctuated or ended

with Chakars.

Nritya Abhinay

The nritya abhinay

(mime) aspect is the

interpretive

illustration of

poetic lines, lyrics

and musical

compositions, by

the dancer, through

graceful hand

gestures, beautiful

body movement

and dramatic facial

expressions.

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1. Ganesh Vandana

Taal: Ektaal Song: Jai Deva

Ganesha Namo

All auspicious occasions begin

with Ganapati pooja. Ganesh or

Ganapati the god of intellect,

knowledge, and wisdom, and

remover of obstacles in life is

praised and worshipped in this

dance. He gives strength to the

dancer to overcome difficulties

and shows a path towards

progress, prosperity and

happiness.

PROGRAM

Pooja: Worship Ganapati & Natraj

by Guru Gauri Jog & Gauri Midha

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2. Meerabai

Taal: Keherva Song: Paga Ghungroo

Bandh Meera

Since childhood, Meerabai

considered Lord Krishna as her

lifelong friend, lover, and husband.

Not understanding the pureness of

that love, her family brushed it aside.

She was married to Raja Bhoj Raj

against her wishes. After his death,

society subjected her to hostility.

However, Meerabai remained

devoted, and poured her feelings into

pure devotion and unconditional love.

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3. Makhan Chori

Taal: Keherva (Gat Bhav)

One of the most popular

mother-child stories is the

story of Yashoda and Krishna.

A mother’s love for her

children is selfless and holds a

special place in a child's heart.

The perfect example is the

divine relationship between

Yashoda ma and Shri Krishna.

This dance will showcase how

a mother’s love for her child is

immense, no matter what

happens.

4. Taal Dhamar

Taal Dhamar is one of the many

rhythmic metric cycles. This taal

consists of 14 beats grouped

asymmetrically into a 5-2-3-4

pattern. This piece starts with a

shloka in worship of Devi

Saraswati Goddess of knowledge

and art. Gauri will present, tatkar,

toda, paran, tehai and palte in Taal

Dhamar showcasing the Nritta

aspect of Kathak.

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5. Jhansi Ki Rani- Laxmibai

Taal :Keherva Song :Khoob

Ladi Mardani

Rani Laxmibai was a fearless

queen who pursued studies as

well as horse riding, fencing

and shooting. As a queen of

Jhansi, her married life was

short as her King died

unexpectedly.

It fell upon the Rani to rise

over the grief and face the

onslaught of the British

invasion. She crowned her

adopted young son as the King

and built an army to fight the

British army and protect the

people of Jhansi.

When the British came to kill

her son, she fought valiantly

while carrying her infant son

on her back and was badly

injured in battle.

She led him to safety but

succumbed to her injuries

INTERMISSION

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6. Sargaam

Taal: Jahptaal Raag :Pooriya

Dhanashree

Sargam is a way of assigning syllables to

names of the notes in a raag or a musical

scale.

The sargam syllables are: Sa, Re, Ga, Ma,

Pa, Dha, Ni and Sa in the octave, or you

may know it as Do, Re Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti,

Do.

Sargam is a beautiful dance composed on

these musical notes with graceful

movements and spins.

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7. Piya Bawari

Gauri first danced to this song

when she was 9 years old. So,

when she was given the

opportunity to choreograph her

own dance, she thought Piya

Bawari (composed by

R.D Burman and sung by Asha

Bhonsle) would make a perfect

full circle moment.

8. Laadki

Song: Laadki and Chunar

The word “Laadki” is a fond

way of addressing a

daughter. This song, by

Sachin Jigar, captures a

beautiful conversation

between a father and his

daughter. The Chunar song

showcases a mother's

unconditional love. This

performance is dedicated to

Gauri’s Nani and Nanu who

are dearly missed. Nani and

Nanu taught their grandkids

to spread love, kindness and

compassion around the

world.14

9. Tarana

Taal: Ek Taal Raag: Mia Ki Todi

During a Tarana, the beauty of the

rhythm is explained through

various movements,

combinations of rhythmic phrases,

and stances.

The structure consists of a main

melody, usually short, repeated

many times, with variation and

elaboration.

Usually, the meaningless syllables

“dar-dar” or “dir-dir” are recited

multiple times.

This tarana will consist of those

syllables along with parans, todas,

and tatkar interwoven into the

dance.

Graduation Ceremony

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Our sincere acknowledgement to Gauri’s Nani and

Massi for helping with costumes and jewelry in

such hard times

Heartfelt Gratitude to everyone!

We are truly honored and humbled by the love and

support we have received from all of our friends

and family.

Many of you have helped us with various aspects

of planning and have done it so wonderfully that it

is hard to express our feelings. Thank you so much

for always being there for us .

Wishing you the best!

Midha Family

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