Immerse yourself in the beautiful Indian classical dance form of kathak with acclaimed dancer, choreographer & teacher Jin Won.Students of all ages (young children, teenagers, professionals, adults, grandmothers) are welcome to come enjoy the benefits of this beautiful Indian dance form.Kathak instruction is based on the teaching methodology developed by Pandit Divyang Vakil, which is a modern adaptation of the guru-shishya parampara (studentsts-teacher tradition). Teaching is customized to the needs, skill, and personality of each student. Even in a group setting, each student gets individual and targeted attention.At the Taalim School of Indian Music, students will learn the two major aspects of kathak – nritta (pure dance) and natya (expressive dance).

Initial training in nritta, begins with basic footwork (tatkar), movements, and chakars, as well as technical compositions such as tukda, bant, tihais, gats, etc. As the student advances, the technical repertoire will expand to include that, uthan, amaad, gat, etc. Given Ms. Won’s background as a tabla player as well, students will gain a strong understanding of rhythm and the rhythm plays in music and dance.Natya or the story-telling aspect of kathak is taught through vandana, thumris and bhajans.In addition to traditional stories from Indian culture, stories from American culture are also interpreted through kathak to make the dance form more accessible.Throughout our kathak classes, a strong emphasis is placed on understanding the body through movement, with a focus on body alignment and posture.As with training in any other classical dance form, learning kathak instills discipline and focus. While becoming a professional kathak dancer takes years of training, similar to ballet, basic to intermediate training in kathak is considered a major asset for all dancers,especially those interested in Bollywood dance.