For the fourth experience,I decided to learn kathak which is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance.I have been dancing since I was five years old which clearly suggests how inclined I am towards dancing and it can for sure be considered as one of my passions.I have learned various western dance styles such as hip hop,jazz, contemporary,waacking and etc but this time I wanted to learn a classical dance in order to get a new experience.In order to thoroughly learn a classical dance there are several levels which we need to pass and so similarly in order to thoroughly learn kathak there seven levels which we need to pass.As I already mentioned that this is the first time I am going to learn a classical dance I will be starting with the first level and so this particular CAS experience will be based on the same.
Learning Outcome 1
1.Did you identify your strengths and weaknesses?
Strengths Weaknesses Facial Expressions Postures Alignment Footwork Balance Flexibility Coordination
2.How do you feel now that you’re aware of it?
Now that I am aware of it I feel like improving upon my weaknesses by implementing the required actions which will help myself convert these weaknesses into strengths.I feel like I have to sincerely implement those actions in order to receive a better result which will help improve my classical dancing abilities and skills.
3.Why is it important for us to know our strengths? Or weaknesses?
It is important for us to know our strengths and weaknesses in order to know where do we stand which will further help us to improve ourselves at our best levels.Being aware of our weaknesses will help us know on which aspects we have to improve upon and being aware of our strengths will help us realize our real potential and encourage ourselves leading to achieve everything at its best.
4.Did you work/or would like to work on your weakness? Relate one area where overcoming this weakness would have benefited you.
I worked on my weaknesses by implementing all those actions which were required to work on my weakness .For example for footwork,I started practicing extra than what was required by coming ten minutes early to the class.This not only made my footwork strong but also helped me learn other dances quickly.
Learning Outcome 2
1.What was so challenging and why?The challenging part was matching certain gestures and postures because I personally feel my body is quite stiff which makes it hard for me to be flexible and for a classical dancer flexibility is required to a great extent because they constantly have to more their body and make various gestures and postures at once.
2.Have you done anything similar before?No,I have not done something similar before.I have just learnt western dance styles such as hip hop,jazz, contemporary,waacking.
3.How did you overcome this challenge?I overcame this challenge by taking an advice from my kathak teacher and her advice was to practice few kathak exercises every kathak class.After practicing those few kathak exercises I did observed an improvement in my gestures and postures.
4.How do you feel about having undertaken this challenge?Why is it important for you to undertake new challenges? I feel appreciative of myself having undertaken this challenge since I turned this weaknees into my strength.Acing coordination,facial expressions,footwork,flexibility are some essential requirements to be a good classical and as I said before dance is my passion so I really want to excel in this area which is why it is important for me to undertake new challenges.
5.Did you discover any skills you hadn’t known or learned yet? How could this skill be useful to you in the future? How does having this new skill make you feel about yourself? Why is it important to learn new skills?
Rather than skills I would say I did discovered several qualities which a classical dancer should have like patience,discipline,enthusiasm,stamina and etc.These skills will be useful to me in the future if I ever wish to build a career in the field of entertainment especially dancing.It is important to learn new skills as it helps us gain new knowledge and new experiences which further trains our brain to handle a wide range of challenges leading us to achieve our aims.
Learning Outcome 4
What made this activity difficult where perseverance or commitment was necessary?How did that make you feel? My kathak class used to be on Monday,Wednesday,Friday and for one hour each day.As I have my school on week days it was very exhausting for me to go to kathak classes.Also,many important things were going on in my life such as school,tuitions,SAT preparation etc which made it very stressful for me to continue with kathak classes.
What commitment was required to complete this activity?My commitment towards my goals was required to complete this activity and my main goal was to pass the first level of Kathak.
Is it easy for you to commit to things?To be persistent?Why or why not?Why is showing perseverance and commitment important? Yes,it’s easy for me to commit to things and be persistent but sometimes there are circumstances where I procrastinate or loose my interest which makes it harder for me to commit to things.It is important to show our perseverance and commitment because it helps us become a more hard working person which further helps us achieve success.
Learning Outcome 7
1.Is working with others generally easy or difficult for you?Why?It depends on the person or the people I am working with.When I think that this person or group of people will be able to guide me well enough to accomplish my aim I tend to work more easily with them.If the person or group of people will not be able to guide me well enough to accomplish my aim it becomes a little difficult for me as I feel the result will be a bit compromised.
2.So, based on your answer to the above question, during this particular activity, was it easy or difficult for you to work with others? There are a lot of people who learn kathak with me in my kathak class and it was easy for me to work with them as we all were of the same age and we all were pretty enthusiastic towards learning kathak.
3.Did you have to work with anyone difficult? How did you handle it? No,I did not have to work with anyone difficult.My kathak teacher was very kind and she was solving all my doubts.Also,me and my peers were of the same age and so we were gelling up a lot.
4.Why is it important to be able to work collaboratively with others?It is important to be able to work collaboratively with others because it helps us improves the way we work to resolve a particular problem which leads to a more efficient result and a more chance of success.
5.What was the importance of teamwork or leadership in your activity?It was important for me to take leadership as this activity was part of my CAS experience and so I had to do everything on my own.There were certain skills I did not have which is why at times I wanted help from my kathak teacher and sometimes my peers in order to learn a particular step or to do anything else.
Final take away
What learner profile characteristics have you developed in this activity?
Inquirer:I developed natural curiosity and showcased independence while learning kathak.The skills I learned by kathak will be sustained with me throughout my life.
Knowledgeable:I explored concepts,ideas,issues and acquired in depth knowledge about this particular dance form and developed my understanding of classical dances across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.
Communicators:Through kathak I tried my best to express stories creatively and also effectively collaborated with others.
There are no links between my subjects and this CAS experience and as such this activity has not benefit others but can benefit others if I share what I have learned with my family,friends and teachers.The highlight of this experience for me was when I learned “Ganesh Vandana” which is a very famous composition in Kathak and it describes a scene where Brahma,Vishnu and Mahesh sing Dhrupad accompanied by Ganesha on the Mŗdanga.Yes,my perspectives or values were challenged and altered because I thought that we only require basic dancing skills to learn kathak but that is not the truth because we also require several qualities such as patience,discipline,enthusiasm,stamina and etc.I can spread awareness about how classical dances consists of a variety of benefits such as having a balanced lifestyle,developing peace of mind,building focus and staying connected to our roots which is our culture or heritage.I achieved success by scoring 70+ marks out of 100 which is said as “distinction” in kathak and this made me a lot happy as it bought a sense of accomplishment to me.From this experience I learned a lot of qualities which can excel an individual in any classical dance form he or she learns and if I did this activity again I would like to shift my classes on weekends so that I am not much exhausted as I am on weekdays.This learning will be helpful to me in the future if I ever choose dancing as my career field and I wish to contribute to the society by spreading as much information as I can about Indian classical dance forms in order to preserve our Indian culture and heritage.
Evidence
