Philipsburg:--- Imbali Center for Creative Movement, in collaboration with dance instructor Aparna Samaga, will be hosting a 5 day Classical Indian Dance intensive at the school's studio in the John Larmonie Center on Longwall Road, Philipsburg.Founder and Director of Imbali Center for Creative Movement, Clara Reyes, said that the dance intensive would run from Wednesday, August 10 through Sunday, August 14 from 8am-1pm. The workshop will be executed by Master Instructor Malathi Iyengar who is the founder of the Los Angeles based Rangoli Dance Company. Rangoli was established in 1992 and aims to educate people about the magnificence of classical Indian dance and Indian heritage. Iyengar seeks to introduce to her students the concepts of discipline and artistic self-exploration through the use of her approaches to dance.
Iyengar will focus her workshop on Bharatanayam, a form of classical Indian dance, which emerged in the southern parts of India and which is over 2000 years old. Reyes said that Bharatanayam is not to be confused with contemporary Bollywood style Indian dancing.
"Bharatanayam is has strict rules, techniques, skills and modes of execution which is steeply based in Indian culture. Contemporary Bollywood dancing is more of a popular social dance drawing on elements from traditional dances, but it is not as codified or bond by tradition as Bharatanayam is," Reyes explained.
Bharatanyam is predominately danced by females; however, there is no traditional reason why males cannot perform the dances. In light of this Reyes is encouraging all interested individuals, regardless of sex, to come out and be a part of this unique opportunity and experience.
"This will be a mixed-age, mixed-level intensive, meaning that even beginners are welcomed to come out and learn more about this form of dance. Malathi Iyengar is at the forefront of this genre of dance and because of this we really wanted to make this intensive open to all those who may be interested in learning more, from beginner to veteran," Reyes said.
More information about the program can be obtained by calling Reyes at 554-9364 or Samaga at 520-6522 or emailing them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. respectively. Total cost for the program is $100 or $20 per day.
