Highlights

Spic Macay at DPS Indirapuram

16 Apr 2018 School Admin

DPS Indirapuram in association with ‘Spic Macay’ organized a Kathak recital by the renowned kathak maestro Ms. Aditi Mangaldas on 16^th April, 2018. A leading dancer and choreographer in the classical Indian dance form of Kathak, Ms. Aditi Mangaldas has broken new ground by using her knowledge and experience of Kathak to evolve a contemporary dance vocabulary, infused with the spirit of the classical. Widely acclaimed for her sparkling technique, artistry and eloquence, Ms. Aditi Mangaldas has performed in major dance festivals across the world and was recently nominated in the classical category for the National Dance Critics Circle Awards 2018.

The occasion was graced by the school Pro-Vice Chairperson, Mrs. Santosh Bansal, the school Principal, Mrs. Meeta Rai and students and teachers from DPS R.N. Extension, DPS Ghaziabad and DPS Gautam Budh Nagar.

The programme commenced with the lighting of the lamp by the esteemed artists and guests. The school Principal, Mrs. Meeta Rai thanked Spic Macay for treating the students to such a grand spectacle of Indian dance and music and expressed her faith that the students would truly be enriched through this rare opportunity of witnessing the performance of such highly acclaimed artists.

Ms. Aditi Mangaldas and her team of accompanying artists began their performance with an electrifying invocation to the Sun God. As the artists performed to the rhythmic beats of the ‘pakhawaj’, the audience was spell bound to see the dexterous hand and foot movements. Engaging the students through the lecture demonstration method, she acquainted them with the origin of this dance form. Tracing its history, she further explained how this dance form was an amalgamation of ‘Nritya’ and ‘Natya’, where body movements, gestures and expressions were used to narrate stories. She also familiarized the students with the different steps of the Kathak dance form, which commenced with the ‘Vandana’- calming down of the body and culminated with the ‘Uthan’- the reviving up of the body. During the performance, Ms. Aditi Mangaldas also demonstrated a number of ‘todas’ and ‘tukdas’ imparting the students some knowledge about the various ‘taali in Kathak. As the auditorium reverberated with the ‘bols’, Ms. Aditi Mangaldas and her team of accompanying artists built up the tempo through electrifying spins, synchronized movements. Recreating the sound of crickets and cicadas with her intricate footwork, she continued to enthrall the audience with her poise, dramatic gifts, vivid expressions and fluid movements.

The Pro-Vice Chairperson of the school, Mrs. Santosh Bansal and the school Principal felicitated, Ms. Aditi Mangaldas and her team by presenting them mementoes. The programme ended with an interactive session, wherein students of the school posed queries to Ms. Aditi Mangaldas about the technicalities, popularity and the repertoire of this dance form.