Kathak is one of the eight Indian classical dance forms. It originated in Northern India. My mom has passed all levels in it and is a trained dancer as well. Following her footsteps, I wanted to learn this dance form. It has always been my passion.
L4-commitment to and perseverance
With perseverance and commitment, I’ve been trained in it for almost 9 years now. Initially it was difficult for me to maintain this commitment when I was a kid. But eventually, I became really passionate about it and enjoyed it more than anything else. It taught me that commitment to something can give wonderful results as it requires a lot of continuous practice and effort to be a graceful dancer. I passed 6 levels and am currently in the 7th and last level. Passing exams were really difficult since they demanded students to read a lot of theory and give long exams, which demotivated me. Nonetheless, the passion for my dance made me continue doing it and I aim to look at it as one of my career choices.
L1 – Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
Like any other art, Kathak has shown my strengths and weaknesses. I discovered that I was naturally gifted, and inherited my dance skills from my mother. My strength was also that I was hardworking and committed towards it. However, my weakness was that sometimes, I did not give my hundred percent while performing. Stress and other factors affected my performance and I also used to get fed up of things. But I’m working on my weaknesses and I’m sure that if I continue learning it with the same love and passion, I’ll be able to overcome them some day.
L7-Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Performing Kathak also renders a huge responsibility and ethical implications. We need to make sure that we stay away from internal politics that is especially evident during competitions. For example, in one of the competitions, a participant was declared winner because of her father’s political connections with the authorities of the competition. It often discourages and disappoints me, my teacher and my parents. But we still need to make sure that we do not get involved with the wrong things like this, follow a moral and ethical path in our journey of Kathak, and respect others’ talents without any kind of jealousy.
I’m really glad that I’ve continued Kathak for so many years. It has taught me a lot about myself and it made a really good bonding between me and my teacher.
