Dance Academies of North India serves the plate of dance which upholds the dance forms of traditional India. Shweta Swati and Dance Company, also known as SSDC, is founded by the well known Kathak dancers Shweta and Swati Garg. This dance school comprises of young artists whose aim is to promote Kathak through mature performances and workshops in India and also in foreign countries.
They and their pupils have widely performed in India and other countries as well. The senior artists of this dance school have established themselves with great acclaim in the Kathak dance world. Artists associated with Shweta Swati and Dance Company are considered to be magicians on stage who have an ability to create devotional dedication with importance on the expressions of feelings (emotions) of Lucknow Gharana and illuminating, rhythmical dazzling powerful dance of Jaipur Gharana.
The founders of this dance school are themselves quite a big name in the Kathak domain of India. Shweta Garg is the founder of this academy, who is among very distinct artists having dual talent. Besides, being an excellent Kathak exponent, she is also a brilliant folk dancer and vocal singer. She emphasises on the purity of Kathak dance and also encourages her students to do the same. Her performances and choreographies reflect the sophistication of Lucknow Gharana and technical brilliance with accuracy of Jaipur Gharana. Probably the best pair among all young generation Kathak exponents is credited to Shweta and her sister Swati Garg. They are famous as Garg sisters and their performances have been hypnotizing their audience since years. Swati Garg is the senior most member of this dance academy. The performances of Swati Garg have been perfected by vigorous training that gives her dance the ecstasy of speed and the harmony of balance. Her powerful looks, precision and charm makes the performance striking and distinctive.
The other teaching faculty of Shweta Swati and Dance Company include eminent names like Pandit Girdhari Maharaj, Pd. Hari Sharan Bhatt, Ramesh Mewal, Ajay Rathore and Kaushal Kant Panwar. The school has been producing many noteworthy performers of Kathak dance style who are glorifying the name of Shweta Swati and Dance Company throughout the globe.
Kalashram in New Delhi is the dream institution of the Kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj. The institute focuses on imparting training mainly in the field of Kathak, along with various other related disciplines like vocal and instrumental music, painting, yoga, Sanskrit, stagecraft, dramatics and so on. Kalashram is sited in a natural environment, with minimum material structures.
The classrooms, meditation rooms, practice halls and amphitheatre of the Kalashram reflect a rural setup in an urban area. The natural atmosphere, with numerous trees, pond and serene surrounding, Kalashram is an extremely inspiring school for performing arts that attracts hundreds of aspiring dancers from all parts of India and abroad. The dancers dwell in simple, unassuming, but rich heritage of Kathak dance. The institute is run on entirely charitable basis with no tuition fees from the students. The objective of the Kalashram is primarily to produce highly talented students who would not only prove worthy of the training that they receive, but also live a modest, humble and disciplined life in today`s society.
Kalashram aims to become a symbol of such that `Kala` is worshipped through the effort and honesty of the students and teachers. Duty, dedication and devotion then become the necessities of Dharma in the Kalashram. This socio-religious outlook lifts performing art to the level of a prayer and each student performs with utmost dedication not for himself but for society at large. The individual interests are then superimposed by a naive approach, where art is taught and learnt for the advantage of the masses and an understanding develops between art, the artiste and the primeval teacher `Prakriti`.
Kalashram follows the Guru-Shishya Parampara that leads to a direct interaction of the teacher and the student, making the relation special and personal as well. The main concern of the teachers is to give individual attention to the students, thus helping them to grow and mature into complete artistes. Though dance is the main subject for specialisation, other closely related arts are also important elements of the curriculum like vocal, percussion, instrumental, yoga, voice culture, and Sanskrit. The students of Kalashram experiences the exposure through workshops, lecture demonstrations in all kinds of art forms like painting, sculpture, crafts and dramatics, and a general awareness is aimed to be created towards the rich legacy of Indian literature, where old classics and. modern literature is dealt with together. Thus, the students of Kalashram grow up to be the responsible citizens of India.
