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Essay on kathak dance
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Kathak is the classical dance of north indian style that was characterized by rhythmic footwork danced under the weight of more than 100 ankle bells, spectacular spins, and a representation of themes from Persian and Urdu poetry alongside those of Hindu mythology. The word kathak means "to tell a story". It is derived from the dance dramas of ancient India. Kathak arose from the fusion of Hindu and Muslim cultures that took place during the Mughal period. More than any other South Asian dance form, kathak expresses the aesthetic principles of Islamic culture.
The origins of the kathak style lies in the traditional unfolding of Hindu myths by Brahmin priests called kathiks, who used mime and gesture for dramatic effect. Gradually, the storytelling became more stylized and developed into a dance form. With the arrival in northern India of the Mughals, kathak was taken into the royal courts and developed into a sophisticated art form; through the patronage of the Mughal rulers, kathak took its current form. The emphasis of the dance moved from the religious to the aesthetics. In cooperation with the aesthetics of Islamic culture, abhinaya which is defined as the use of mime and gesture, became more delicate, with emphasis placed on the performer's ability to express a theme in many different ways.
There are two main centers of education called gharanas, which are both named after cities in northern India and which expanded under the patronage of regional princes. The Lucknow gharana developed a style of kathak that is characterized by precise, finely detailed movements and an emphasis on the exposition of thumri, (which is a semiclassical style of love song). The Jaipur gharana required a mastery of complicated pure dance patterns. Nowadays, performers present a blend of kathak based on the styles of both gharanas.
A traditional kathak performance features a solo dancer on a stage, surrounded on all sides by the audience.
The concept that belly dance is a constantly evolving dance might surprise most people, as the static Orientalist image of the belly dancer is the one that pervades American popular culture. I and other scholars attempt to remove belly dance from the ridged framework of Orientalism and the harem fantasy. By the following how belly dance arrived in America, and how images of belly dancers and harems became part of the visual culture of the West I have attempted to demonstrate that there are aspects of power and a different reading of images of belly dance is possible. Through continued scholarly inquiry and research I look forward to the emergence of a new image of belly dance, one that represents the power and beauty of this dance, an image that is respectful of the many cultures that it represents.
“Nazi Medical Experiments.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 17 Jan. 2014.
During World War II, Hitler rounded up people who were not part of the Aryan Race and sent them to concentration camps; in those camps, some of those people served as test subjects for medical experimentation. These experiments separate into three categories. The first type were “experiments aimed at facilitating the survival of Axis military personnel,” (Museum). Next, the “experimentation aimed at developing and testing pharmaceuticals and treatment methods for injuries and illnesses which German military and occupation personnel encountered in the field” (Museum). Finally, the “[experimentations] sought to advance the racial and ideological tenets of the Nazi worldview” (Museum). In the novel Night by Elie Wiesel, Dr. Mengele conducted at least two of the selections that Elie had to watch and go through, but it is different because in Night, Elie Wiesel was not aware of the experiments and only saw Dr. Mengele during the selections. Dr. Mengele and other SS doctors received the power to test various medical experiments on Jews, Gypsies, war prisoners, the unwanted, and others that Hitler sent to concentration camps. Some were done for science and others were just to satisfy the doctor's interests.
"Nazi Medical Experiments: Background & Overview." Background & Overview of Nazi Medical Experiments. Jewish Virtual Library, n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Through dance and movement, the storyline were expanded with the assistance of choreographer, Garth Fagan. A well-renowned choreographer for his innovative choreography primarily for Garth Fagan dance, Fagan used his unique style of choreography to the Lion King by combining a variety of Ballet, Jazz, Modern Dance, African Dance and Balinese Dance to suggest representations of nature without making a replica itself and use dance to help tell the story (Exploring the Lion King, 2010). Taymor’s idea of expanding the film by adding in choreographic elements not only will set the overall concept, it would additionally guide the visual aesthetic by allowing dance as the main element that balances musical numbers in all categories: effects, music and so on into the choreography (Bluemental et al 210:1999). Both Fagan and Taymor gave major contributions to the different styles of dance and performance techniques from around the world creating the precision and versatility that is being portrayed in the musical. In order to create the ideal staging of the hunting lionesses, flying dancers in the aerial ballet to the takeover of the hyenas at Pridelands, the collaboration between Fagan and Taymor gave suggestions of how these movements being performed with grace and poise using different dance styles and are cultural based be the forefront of the production(Taymor 148:1997). By looking at three notable dances in the musical, this chapter will analyse the presence of dance and movement being portrayed in the musical and how are these dances create the drama, still giving the idea of moving in an African Savannah. Furthermore, this will give an insight to all challenges and pitfalls both Fagan and Taymor endured during the development of the...
These cells exist throughout the body after embryonic development, they are found inside different types of tissue (organs) of the body such as the brain, bone marrow, blood, blood vessels, skeletal muscles, skin and the liver. They remain in a non-dividing state for years until activated by a disease or tissue injury. Adult stem cells, which are also called somatic stem cells, these cells can only produce specialized cells for that particular tissue type. Somatic stem cells are used as treatment for blood related diseases such as leukemia. Most types of somatic cells are present in low abundance and are difficult to isolate and grow in culture.
When you here the words ‘human experimentation‘, you think lab coats, mad scientists, and monsters like Frankenstein. But the reality of it is much more gruesome. People just like you and me were used like guinea pigs. In many cultures, a doctor is thought of as a healer; a person who lives to save others. That was not the case of the physicians that severed for the labor camps in Poland. Human experimentation is sadly a horrific thing of our world’s past and is most commonly related to in the stories of testing taking place in Nazis concentration camps of World War Two. Nazis doctors took innocent people and performed grueling experiments on them for three specific reasons (United States Holocaust Museum).
Stem cells come from adult stem cells, and embryonic cells. Embryonic (blastocyst) stem cells come from embryos that are usually three to five days old. They contain 150 cells that are useable for stem cell research. These embryos are usually created as in vitro fertilization (a bunch of eggs that are fertilized but only one is put inside of a woman). Reproduction happens when a male’s sperm is fertilized in a woman’s egg to create a zygote (cell). Scientists can verify the cells are embryonic by them being able to be duplicated and the cells ability to become other cell types; this makes embryonic cells flexible. Adult stem cells are found in adult tissues in very small numbers. These cells are only used in certain areas where they are found such as bone marrow or adipose tissue (fat).
The concept of stereotypes is what we have been created in our presumptions of a person without even having an idea of how they are. It is a common thing in our society on which sometimes it can create tolerance or intolerance toward other groups because of different ideas or traditions. The film by Gregory Nava My Family and the book by Victor Martinez Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida are clear examples of the concept of stereotypes. In addition, the film Real Women Have Curves by Patricia Cardoso demonstrates some of the ways stereotypes can affect one’s own ethnic group. Racial stereotypes can be good or bad creating influences toward a group. In this case, stereotypes can create bad influences causing misperceptions, confusion within the same
In 1900, Walter Reed, a 49 year-old physician, led medical experiments on subjects who voluntarily consented to the tests. One of his experiments consisted of his medical staff at the United States Army Yellow Fever Commission being bitten by mosquitoes carrying yellow fever (“A slap in Major Walter Reed’s Face”). The object was not chaotically based, but specific to finding a cure. Whereas, in the 1940s at the beginning of the Holocaust, hazardous experiments, intended to test human boundaries, were performed without subjects’ consent and in unsafe environments. These vicious experiments were forced upon Jewish prisoners by two Nazi physicians, Josef Mengele and Shiro Ishii (“Human Experimentation, Plutonium, and Colonel Stafford Warren”). The state of the subjects was filthy and brutal, in their appearance and treatment. Many of the experiments left the victims mutilated and psychologically scarred. They consisted of injections of diseases, subjection to various poisons, and exposure to extreme temperatures. Later, in 1946, Germany received a ‘slap on ...
The Dabkeh was formed in the Levant, the region that include Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, where the houses were built from stone and wood. It unites people from different families and strengthens the bond of brotherhood between them. Dabkeh is based on harmonized foot stomping. The dancers can stand either in a straight line, in an arch, or in a circle. When they stand in a straight line or in an acrh, dancers can hold hands or shoulders to create harmony and synchronization. Whereas when they form a circle, they hold shoulders so that the circle shape is maintained. Male or female dancers perform Dabkeh as a part of the traditions. It can be danced separately or integrated depending on the number of dancers and the occasion. Dabkeh was performed in occasions and events especially popular at weddings and is performed by a group of no less than ten people called dabke dancers “dabeeka”. They are accompanied by a flute player and oriental drum where the dancers listen to the tempo and perform according to the rhythm. Aft...
Adult or somatic stem cells exist throughout the body after embryonic development and are found inside of different types of
Different dances came from different cultures in this performance. As I had said before, “Oshun, Goddess of Love”, came from Africa. It arrived in America during the slave trade and has been here ever since. “Paper Moon” came from Japan. The text from the dance came from an adaptation from “Omoiyari”, which is an ancient Japanese dance ritual.
Another example equally as potent and yet sadly overlooked by many particularly those outside India is that of Kathak. A classical Indian dance, today held in great esteem among the 6 great classical dances of India, 21st century Kathak combines incredibly complex technique and elegant, slow abhinaya (or story telling) and owes almost the entirety of its current day form to the Mughals. The transformation that Kathak underwent from its original form to how we see it today that occurred during Mughal Era is perhaps the most underestimated and truest remaining symbol of the vibrant Indo-Islamic cultural melding that occurred under the patronage of the Mughals, and to...
Like many Indian arts, Indian dance also has its root in religion. Without the religious and cultural background of India, the growth and beauty of Indian dance is not possible. In ‘Natya Shastra’, there is a small story about the origin of Indian dance. According to Hindu mythology, dance first existed in heaven. There was always a constant conflict between the Asuras and the Devas for wealth and power. The Devas were tired of the Asuras’ greediness and jealousy.