Dharitri Kalita, an awardee of Junior Fellowship from Union Ministry of Culture, has been training blind students of the Guwahati Blind School for the past 8 months. The principal purpose of the project is to promote and awake the hidden talents of these students. The students presented a spectacular show in their classroom recently. The success of the venture has ensured the continuation of the project till 2004.
Viswa Kala Kendra is promoting a Dance Museum at Trivandrum, Kerala, India, in memory of Guru Gopinath, the doyen of Indian Classical dance, Kerala Natanam and Kathakali. Viswa Kala Kendram, the dance Institution founded by the late Natanakalanidhi Dr Guru Gopinath and Thankamani Gopinath offers Four-year Diploma courses in Kerala Natanam for students and One-year course in Kerala Natanam for dance teachers and those who have learned other styles of dances. Short-term dance course in initiation to dancing is offered to foreign students. Two-year course in Ottan Thullal and four year course in classical music is also offered. For details, contact gvinodini@yahoo.com.
Sitara Devi gave tabla maestro Zakir Hussain his first major break the first opportunity to play at a public performance. Zakir had played earlier with great maestros at small, private gatherings but he had never given a public concert. Sitara Devi took him to Birla Hall and when the organisers asked her whether he would be capable of accompanying her, she told them he was after all the son of the great Alla Rakha and must surely be talented. She took her chance and he lived up to her expectations since he played many more times for her after that.
Joan L Erdman and Zohra Segal have written a book titled STAGES - the Art and Adventures of Zohra Segal. It is the saga of a dancer, actress and cultural impressario whose life is a tribute to individualism. All the world is literally her stage.
Ruth St.Denis made her debut as a dancer in 1906 and some of her imaginative and innovative compositions include Radha, Nautch Dance, Dance of the Black and Gold Sari, The Cobras, The Incense and The Yogi.
When he found his best choreographic attempts being distorted in television and film productions, the famous American modern dancer Merce Cunningham learnt the tricks of the camera and its perception of movement. It was through study of the camera technique that he came to know that space and time are differently viewed by the eye of the camera. So, for all television versions of his productions, the choreography is vastly different from what is done on the open stage.

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