About
Kanha School of Dance is dedicated to teaching and performing Bharata Nrityam- an ancient Indian classical dance form. It was established in 2011 in San Jose, CA. It was founded by Ashwini Srivatsan, the artistic director of the company. The company strives to bring the eastern tradition of Bharata Nrityam to the west. Dance, music and culture are an integral part of building a community that one can feel a strong connection with and this is Kanha's mission. At Kanha we use our gamut of talents to make people feel part of a larger community - one they can count on, stand by and feel inspired by.
We invite you to come be a part of our artistic and cultural journey. There are a number of ways in which you can get involved- sign up for classes, attend our performances and workshops, help us further our mission by being a sponsor/donor. We promise to take you on an amazing and fun-filled ride!
What is Bharata Nrityam?
Broadly speaking, Bharata Nrityam is a variant of Bharatanatyam (A popular south Indian classical dance form). The distinguishing factor of the Bharata Nrityam style is the prominent use of special movements called Charis, Karanas, Nritta Hastas and Rechakas in addition to the Adavus (basic dance movements) that make up Bharatanatyam. Several people draw parallels between Bharata Nrityam and Kuchipudi, while some say they see a bit of Odissi in it too. Reason being, while Bharatanatyam adheres strongly to the text Abhinaya Darpana, Bharata Nrityam finds its origin in the 'Natya Shastra', which has been loosely adapted by most Indian classical dance forms. Naturally, many traces of Indian classical dance forms appear in the Bharata Nrityam interpretation. The creator of Bharata Nrityam is the renowned Dr.Padma Subrahmanyam. The Bharata Nrityam style is receiving widespread acceptance and recognized as a highly versatile dance form, armed with movements such as the Karanas. However, the foundations of Bharata Nrityam are very close to that of Bharatanatyam. Therefore, at Kanha, we will follow the Bharatanatyam guidelines for the majority of the introductory course work.
Offerings
Fall Batch starts April 2023
Kanha classes are offered in the East bay, CA. We offer group and private lessons for adults and children ages 5 and up.