Sunday, January 25, 2015

Workshop on Jathis conducted by me for Nrityayatri

The workshop for Nrityayatri on the concept of Jathis was a big hit. With 32 registrations there were eager students who learnt one composition of Madurai Muralidharan from the cd "Sapta Tandavam" . The reason for this choice was obviously was rhythmic brilliance which Madurai Muralidheeran has structured the jathis in the composition.
The second segment of the workshop was an improvisation exercise. I had given certain syllables to the students and they had to construct the first phrase of the jathi weaving the syllables. One of the young students ( disciple of Smt Suvarna Bag) was a a bundle of surprise. She gave an excellent phrase , which I gave the shape of a gopucchha yati. Each line of this total jathi was given to choreograph under six criterias. These six criterias according to me become a perfect yardstick to choreograph a jathi.
The whole group of 32 was divided into groups of 5 and each group would come with their interpretation specified under the criteria.

It was an interesting exercise where the students were made aware of the basic components which will help in structuring a jathi.

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