On 7th December, the Culture Circle presented by New Acropolis hosted an online dance session titled “Ta Thei-i : Embodying the union of the Earth with the Divine”, with Kathak dancer Seema Mehta. A disciple of the legendary Pandit Chitresh Das and the Director of Chhandam Nritya Bharati, a leading Kathak institution, Seema was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar, by the President of India for her exceptional work in empowering women through the arts.
Seema performed a beautiful rendition of Ganpati Vandana Shravana Sudara, composition by her Guru Pandit Chitresh Das, with Pandit Ramesh Mishra on Sanrangi, and vocals by Mala Ganguli. The session explored dance concepts of Thaat or Kramalaya Tatkaar, where Seema demonstrated rhythm in relation to time and life. She presented the relationship between order and rhythm through cycle of Teen-Taal or a cycle of 16 beats. This was followed by an interactive session where several participants joined Seema practicing a few dance movements together.
Through this session Seema explained how the practice of dance allows us to experience being in the moment, fully engaged & focused. Seema ended with her singing and performing to the Bhajan “Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram”.
