MODULE #1:
INFINITE WORLD OF RHYTHMS
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE “GABRIEL FAURÉ” CONSERVATORY – PARIS 5°
PURPOSE
Kathak, classical dance of India is not only an extraordinary art form able to captivate the audience with its elegance and charm, but it is also a precious toolbox that holds techniques and working methods that allow to analyze with insight the infinite world of rhythms. This toolbox can be of great interest to dancers, musicians and actors. Maitryee Mahatma, Kathak dancer, breaks down this thousand-year-old know-how into 4 modules, so that performing artists can train themselves specifically in the field they are interested in.
EDUCATIONAL CONTENT
KICKING AND RHYTHMIC SINGING // PURPOSE
- Develop musical listening skills
- Learn to translate a rhythm into rhythmic language (bowls) for a better understanding
- Mark the rhythm with the feet
- Synchronize singing and steps
- Learn to interact with a percussionist
This module familiarizes you with bowls, Hindustani rhythmic language, and leads you to sing. It also offers a series of exercises to learn how to translate rhythms by kicking the feet, as well as the different sounds that can be produced with them. Starting from simple rhythms, these sessions gradually take you to manage more complex rhythms and address the subtleties of a rhythmic sequence. Finally, it offers work sessions with a percussionist.
TRANSLATING A RHYTHM INTO MOVEMENT // PURPOSE
- Develop music listening skills
- Feel the rhythm in the different parts of the body: voice, head, neck, arms, torso, feet
- Learn to give visual expression to the rhythm
- Improvise to a rhythm proposed by a percussionist
Whether it is a dancer, musician or actor, everyone is led to integrate the rhythm in order to give it a visual expression through the body in motion. This module takes you to listen to a rhythm, and explore it in the different parts of the body. It also pushes you to improvise on a rhythm with spontaneity.
RHYTHMIC STRUCTURES // PURPOSE
- Learn to analyze the rhythmic structure of a musical sequence
- Observe the arrangement of time subdivisions within a pulsation
- Research and analysis of the different rhythmic improvisation tracks
- Take up the various structures studied by voice
- Composition and elaboration of rhythmic phrases
Any artist who wishes to improvise with accuracy, is led to consider the analysis of rhythmic structures. This module allows you to enter into the rhythmic structures underlying a musical piece. And from there, it takes you to explore different ways of rhythmic improvisation.
EXPRESSIVENESS IN THE RHYTHMS // PURPOSE
- Awareness of nuances through Indian rhythmic language (bowls)
- Learn to nuance a rhythmic phrase by playing on flow, accents and silence
- Express different intentions, colors and emotions through a rhythmic phrase
- Relationship between the body and intention in rhythmic expressiveness
This module bridges the gap between a purely technical aspect of rhythm and its artistic interpretation. It allows you to explore nuances by combining technique (flows, accents, silences), and expressiveness (intentions and emotions).
TERMS OF PARTICIPATION
• Pupils, students, teachers, professional and amateur artists – Any level (initiation, improvement, widening of skills).
• Dancers, musicians and actors
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BIOGRAPHY
Born in Calcutta, India, Maitryee Mahatma started Kathak dance with Sri Shikha Khare and then she was trained by Kathak’s greatest dance master, Pandit Birju Maharaj. In Paris for four years to do a doctorate in literature at the University of Paris 13, she continued dancing with Sri Sharmila Sharma. Today she continues to deepen her art with Pandit Ashimbandhu Bhattacharya. On stage from the age of 10, his dance is marked by his grace, the subtlety of his expressions and the rhythmic work of the feet. While respecting the rigorous grammar of his art, Maïtreyee was able to translate complex rhythms into poetic images. “The bowls, rhythmic sequence, are not just sounds, it’s a whole language! They talk to me and I translate everything they tell me into a gesture.” In France since 2002, she has performed in Europe with well-known Indian singers and musicians (Pandit Sukhdev Prasad Mishra, Pandit Saugata Roy Chowdhury, Pandit Chiranjib Chakrabarti and Nabankur Bhattacharya). More recently she performs with the Jhankar Company which is an Indo-French collaboration composed of four artists: Nabankur Bhattacharya, Fromentin, Philippe Gauby and Maïtreyee Mahatma. Maïtreyee brings Kathak dance to life as much in its tradition as in its contemporaneity through its cross-projects. Meeting of Kathak with Flamenco “When silence screams”, a daring representation on women; “l’Eveil” a creation with Filibert Tologo, Afro-contemporary dance; and “Chrysalide” a collaboration with Belgian singer Reynald Halloy. She currently lives in Marseille where she teaches Kathak dance and participates fully in regional cultural life.