Private Lessons and Workshops:
For beginners to advanced dancers, private lessons can help excel your skill and give you the specific help you need!
Private Bollywood dance lessons are available with Lakshmi Singh in a comfortable private studio. Lessons can include technique, finger cymbals, choreography or improvisational skill and more. Semi-Private lessons are available for up to 3 people.
Please inquire for location and available times.
Prices:
1 hour Solo Private:$35
1.5 hour Solo Private:$45
2 hour Solo Private: $55
Packages:(please email me for pricing)
4 weekly 1 hour lessons:
4 weekly 1.5 hour lessons:
Workshops are also available, and can be tailored to fit a variety of needs, including parties or "girl's night" or “ladies musical bollywood night” that usually happens day or two before the Wedding. Workshops can also be combined with a performance. If you are interested in private lessons or hosting a workshop, please contact me at lakshminehra@yahoo.com for more information.
Lakshmi (in front) teaching Bollywood Dance workshop at Southern Oregon University, during International week 2009
Drawn to the lavish dance numbers in films from India, or just bored with their gym workouts, people are flocking to Bollywood-style dance classes that mix traditional Indian folk dances with hip-hop moves. And the US exercise industry is taking notice.
Long enjoyed by young people of Indian descent, and common in big cities on the coasts, Bollywood-style classes are popping up in regions of the country where Indian cinema is new and there aren't as many people of Indian descent.
Fans of Bollywood - an informal term for Hindi-language films - want formal instruction in the style marked by foot-stomping dance numbers that put folk moves and hip swings to pop beats.
For some, learning about Indian culture is as big a draw as the dancing. At Bollywood West, the mostly female students gather on Sunday nights to watch Bollywood films. Students also attend Indian cultural festivals and learn about dances common to Indian weddings and family gatherings.
"I'd tried all of it. Modern dance and salsa and swing. Nothing has hooked me like this. I love the culture and the community and the spice," says Bollywood West student Claire Polsky, 45. (Source:China Daily/Agencies February 20, 2009)
Bollywood Dancing by Kids: This video from youtube is so much fun
What is Bollywood:
The name is a conflation of Bombay, the old name of Mumbai, and Hollywood, the center of the United States film industry. Though some purists deplore the name (arguing that it makes the industry look like a poor cousin to Hollywood), it seems likely to persist and now has its own entry in the Oxford English Dictionary. [from Wikipedia.com] Time Magazine recently cited that the Indian movie industry produces over 1000 movies every year—nearly four to five times the output of Hollywood—making it the largest film industry in the world. "Every day in India, 14M people stand in line to go see movies. With this kind of exposure, the movie stars in India are almost godlike. " [Jonathan Torgovnik, Bollywood Dreams]
Bollywood Dance
Bollywood dancing is the foundation of every great Indian film. Songs typically comment on the action taking place in the movie, in several ways. Sometimes, a song is worked into the plot, so that a character has a reason to sing; other times, a song is an externalization of a character's thoughts, or presages an event that has not occurred yet in the plot of the movie. In this case, the event is almost always two characters' falling in love. "Songs are a mode of indirect expression whereby characters can articulate thoughts and desires which may be inappropriate to state directly." [Tejaswini Ganti, Bollywood: A Guidebook to Popular Hindi Cinema]
Hand Gestures and Meanings in Indian Dance:
Here I will talk about many folk and classical Indian dances of India
1. The Indian Dance Bharatnatyam is an ancient form of dance which is said to have originated since the time of the Gods. Bharatnatyam consists of a combination of expression through facial, body and hand movements. Each of these categories are further divided into numerous other categories and then further into sub categories.
In terms of the hand movements alone the expressions can be broadly classified into two categories :'Asamyuta Hasta' - Single hand gestures and 'Samyuta Hasta' - Double hand gestures. In my project I will be using a combination of these two most likely. There are 28 Asamyuta hastas & 24 Samyuta hastas. Below I have mentioned only the few gestures that are relevant to my concept and my project. However I will be consulting either a Bharatnatyam instructor or student about the gestures and how to hold them in order for me to carry out my photo shoot succesfully.
Lakshmi, performing at Southern Oregon University May 2009
Shukatunda Hasta-To Shoot an Arrow, Weapon, Saying Cunning things, Showing Fury.
Alapadma Hastha- Pain of seperation, Mirror, Full moon, Beautiful things,wind, water , anger.
Kartarimukha-the separation of man and a woman, opposition/ ?turning or rolling, the corners of the eye, death, to show differences, lightning, sleeping alone, sorrow, downfall, creeper.
Chatura hastha- Wetness, Sadness, Taste, Eye, Differentiate colors, Promise, Romance, Slow movement, Breaking,Seat, Melted Butter, Oil.
Mushti -to show wrestlers in combat mode.
Pasha-To fight with others, rope, chain.
2. Another beautiful classical dance form is my favroite Kathak. Unlike Bharatnatyam this dance lets of have loose positions and that stiffness is gone but again having rythmetic but complecated footwork makes this dance unique. more to come....
3. KathakKali:
About the Artist:
Lakshmi Singh
Lakshmi Singh, the Founder of Moksha Bollywood Dance and Fitness Studio, is an enthuiastic individual, who has worked with highly celebrated choreographers, dancers, designers, directors, and actors. Accountant & Business Woman by profession, Lakshmi is a natural choreographer and Henna Artist originally from Bhopal, Madhaya Pradesh, India. She is dancing since she was 4. Lakshmi graduated from Barkartuallah University with a Masters degree in Business. She continues to promote cultural awareness by founding the 1st Indian Dance Studio in the OR. She has choreographed and Performed in a number of productions and shows. Lakshmi is well known for her original, energetic, elegant, artistic and vibrant choreography for the Modern Indian and Folk Dances. Her participation in charity shows is never-ending and her performances and choreography always leave her audience in awe.
Awards: She has been recipient of received several awards for performances and won many beauty pageant including Miss Bhopal 2000 and Miss Madhaya Pradesh runner up 2001, She was also finalist for the well known Femina Miss India beauty pageant in 2001. She was honored with a silver medal for a best student for the under graduation by Nutun Girls P. G. College. She has also helped her school, colleges, university to won the Championship for Badminton and Table-Tennis on the state level.
Lakshmi loves children and has a passion to teach them a part of rich Indian culture through dances and art (Her 5 yrs old son chants in Sanskrit and does yoga with her everyday). She believes that each individual human child is deserving of respect, love, food and education. She has passion to teach them a part of Indian culture through dances and art. For her, dance is like a form of yoga, which synchronizes the inner biorhythms with the movements of the body. Besides dancing, Lakshmi enjoys music, and is passionate for any kind of art- such as paintings, photography, videography, modelling, editing, graphic art, costume designing, theater art, watching movies and playing Table-Tennis and Badminton. Lakshmi leaves in Talent with her husband and son.
Neeta Lakshmi's Bollywood Workout in the news
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100322/OREGONHEALTHYLIVING/3220307/-1/OREGONHEALTHYLIVING12
