Re: Mohiniyattam Classes in Redmond starting Oct, 2013

[Joyce Paul Siamak]

This is excellent Smitha,

 

I was sorely missing Mohiniyattam in WA and although I am briefly trained in it, most of my Mohiniyattam remained within the walls of my personal dancing :-). I am so excited that you are starting classes. I will definitely swing by. I also have a few students who have been asking me to teach them. So this will be a great opportunity for them- to learn from you. YAY! :-)

 

​Much needed !!! :-) Let me know how I can help. Adding the NATYAM educator group. Also please post on Washington Narthakis!

 

Thanks

Thanks

Joyce Paul Siamak

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On Wed, Aug 14, 2013 at 10:41 AM, Smitha Vijayan <svija...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Friends!

As many of you are aware, I've been talking about teaching Mohiniyattam for a while now!  I am a student of Guru Kala Vijayan (recipient of the Sangeeth Natak Academy Award), who is the daughter (Late) Kalamandalam Kalyanikuttiamma and Padmasree (Late) Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair.   Kalyanikuttiamma is often referred to as the “Mother of Mohiniyattam” and is particularly known for the structural integrity she brought to Mohiniyattam at a point when Mohiniyattam was fading from being a mainstream classical dance form.  She was among the first batch of Mohiniyattam students that graduated from Kalamandalam and worked hard throughout her career to maintain Mohiniyattam in its most authentic form.  This heritage has been carried forward by her two daughters, Kala (my guru) and Sreedevi, and her granddaughter, Smitha Rajan.  Smitha Rajan is based in St. Louis and runs a school for both Mohiniyattam and Bharatanatyam.  For the past year, I've continued taking lessons from Smitha Rajan revising the basics and items I’d learnt previously.

The purpose of this email is to inform you that I will be teaching Mohiniyattam starting October 2013 as part of the Abhinaya School of Dance and Music, founded by Lakshmi and Sanjay Subramaniam.  I will confirm the exact date soon.  With my other commitments, I will be teaching only adults at this time.  I am open to teaching kids who have completed their arangetrams in other classical styles.  Here are some details about the classes:

Venue: VEDA Temple, Redmond

Proposed Date/Time: Class will be 60 minutes, every other Friday approximately between 5 and 8 p.m.  My hope is to start with just two sessions in the following time slots:

1^st class starting at 5.30 OR 6 p.m. for an hour.

2^nd class starting at 6.30 OR 7 p.m. for an hour.

I will need to conclude all classes by 8 p.m.

Class Size: I would like to limit the class size to about 6 per class so that I can focus individually on each student.  Based on your past experience in classical dance, I will try to accommodate you in the most appropriate peer group.  I will focus heavily on promoting the integrity of Kalayanikuttiyamma’s style, and will work with each dancer to progress at a pace that they are most comfortable with. 

Content: As with any art form, I will start with the basics.  There are 4 sets of adavus in Mohiniyattam, followed by some new adavus that have been added by my gurus.  After the 1^st two sets, we can start with the introductory item in Mohiniyattam – Cholkettu.  Later this year, I will have studio-quality music recorded for about 7-8 items needed for a full Mohiniyattam Kacheri, which we can work towards. 

Fees: I'm proposing $20 per class.    

Enrollment: Pls. inform me as soon as possible via email if you are interested in joining.  Many of you have talked to me about your interest.  But pls. do confirm again by email and let me know if you have a preferred time for the slots listed above.  Also, if you can provide a brief background on your prior experience and training in any classical dance form, that will help me assign you to the appropriate peer group. 

Pls. know that this is a first-time venture for me, and I am pursuing this truly out of my love and passion to promote this priceless dance form.    Pls. feel free to call me at 425-221-0638 or email me with any questions.   If you know of others who may be interested in pursuing Mohiniyattam, pls. feel free to forward this email.   

 

Sincerely,

Smitha Krishnan.

425-221-0638

[Creative Journeys]

It’s about time, Smitha!  I enjoyed learning and performing “Thiruvadhira”, which you so patiently taught a group of us – if that’s an indication of your teaching skills… you will most assuredly succeed in your endeavor! 

 

Wish you all the best!!

 

Nanda

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