We teach Jaipur Gharana Kathak at Priming Dance Studio.

Meet your Teacher

Jatinder is our senior faculty and a core team member at Priming Dance. Jatinder is from Jaipur Gharana, holds a Master’s degree in Kathak from the renowned Prayag Sangeet Samiti. She has been choreographing and teaching for over a decade. Jatinder is mentored by Deepak Aurora Sir, a direct disciple of Kathak Maestro, Pandit Rajendra Gangani Ji. We feel truly blessed to have her on our team and are excited to spread the joy of Kathak together!

History of Kathak

Kathak is an Indian classical dance form. India has eight classical dance forms and Kathak is the only one that comes from the northern part of India.  The word Kathak is derived from the Sanskrit word “Katha” which means story.  A person who tells the story is called a storyteller and in our language, a Kathak.

Kathak unites three performing arts – music, dance and drama. When the three merge, a Kathak is born.

Kathak started as folk art. Kathak dancers traveled from one village to another, telling stories about what they had seen, passing information from one segment of society to another. They were very popular in the villages and Pundits also would invite Kathakars to perform within temples. Here the theme was changed completely and they performed to the Puranas, Vedas, the stories from Mahabharata and Ramayana. Temple dancing in Kathak was introduced in the second stage of Kathak. The focus here was on gods and goddesses. 

With the coming of the Mughals, these Kathakars were invited to the royal courts and everything changed again – the content, philosophy, history, literature, fashion, jewelry, and even the instruments and language. The Mughals wanted to use dance more for entertainment than spirituality and hence, there was more focus on technique. 

During the British reign in India, dance was forbidden. This is the time when many Nautch girls preserved the culture, heritage, style, thought and evolutionary process of Kathak. Everything was passed on to their own family members. This is when the concept of Gharanas or local schools started to grow. “Ghar” means home. 

There were three Gharanas based in the northern part of India – Jaipur, Lucknow and Benares.

About Jaipur Gharana

Jaipur Gharana, located in the northern frontier of the country and home to the Rajputs or the warrior class, is best known for its stunning representation of Veer Ras or the “Bravery genre”.

It is focused more on warrior-like movements. Parans and Kavits were introduced here. It focuses a lot on footwork, spins or chakkars. 

The soul of Jaipur Gharana is in it’s strength and precision. Born out of the aggression of the Shiv Tandav, the later generations brought Lasya and nourished it also with soft movements.

Every Gharana was not isolated, but still had their own style and built their own repertoire, which has since been passed on through the Guru-Shishya Parampara for generations.

Post-independence of India, our leaders realized that the legacy of classical dance forms that was passed on through generations needed to be nurtured. Hence, Gurus were now invited to teach and pass on the knowledge to younger generations with freedom. Many academies were established by the government all over the country and they are flourishing today.

Kathak class for Beginners

Our Beginner Kathak classes are for kids and adults. Kids batches start from the age of 5 years. For adults, there is no age barrier. There is no limit to gaining knowledge and following your passion.

Advanced Level Kathak classes and exams

Can I learn Kathak as an adult if I’m a complete beginner? 

Yes, of course you can. With dedicated practice and a passion for Kathak, age will never be a barrier for you. We have certified teachers with years of teaching and performance experience, who take special care to give personalised training even in a group batch. If you still have concerns or any injuries, please feel free to contact us to discuss. 

Please go through the common questions in the section below. If you have any other questions apart from these, about our classes please send us a WhatsApp message on +91 9319153005.

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