Arpana Dance Company - Arpana School of Dance

"I believe learning a performing art and achieving a certain amount of proficiency requires regular attendance, a good practice schedule, exposure to other dance forms and dancers, family support, self motivation and an intelligent and smart approach to the art form. Even though many students take it up only as a hobby, the art form itself is no less than any other art or science, requiring years of dedicated mental and physical work. It is a life long journey of growth and learning."

- Ramya

Arpana means 'Offering' in Sanskrit and it is with this spirit of offering dance to the Divine that the school was started. Since the humble beginnings in 1982, Ramya Harishankar has personally trained over 250 students in this rigorous art form with more than 70 of them 'graduating' and performing their dance debut or Arangetram. The teaching follows much in the pattern of the 'Guru-Shishya' tradition of yore. The students are not mere enrollees in the school but develop a personal relationship with their teacher over the years, learning many intricacies of the dance form, performance techniques and cultural awareness. Through her school, she has helped build artistic sensitivity, appreciation and understanding of cultural traditions in the community. Her students also acquired physical and mental discipline, strength of character and personalities that have held them in good stead through their college and working careers. Many of them have become torchbearers of the tradition and have been performing with the Arpana Dance Company since its inception in 1985.

Combining the best of both Eastern and Western teaching methods, I hope to instill in the students a love for dance. The children start in small groups learning the basics - posture, movements, rhythms, gestures. As they mature, I take them on personally grooming them further in developing a deeper understanding of the dance form and enhancing their performance by working on - grace, endurance, sensitivity and presentation. While audio or video tools may be supplementary, I believe in a one- on- one approach much like the oral and visual tradition that I was raised in.

- Ramya