A Memorable Walk Through The Life Of Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji

 

Kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji, was a leading name and a torchbearer of the Kathak dance form. He was the only son and the disciple of Shri Achhan Maharaj. Pandit Ji was a leading face of the Kathak dance form around the world. With a glorious career in Kathak, he performed in various countries across the world. He was a wonderful singer and had a strong grip over Thumri, Dadra, Bhajan, and Ghazals. You’d be surprised to know that Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji gave his first stage performance at the age of 7. One of the interesting facts about Birju Maharaj is that he was also a sensitive poet and a confident orator.

Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji always focused on taking Kathak to new heights. Coming from a family of great dancers, he was introduced to the world of Kathak from a very young age. He was well-known for his facial expressions and feet movements. Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji is considered the epitome of Kathak by many people around the globe.

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1. Early Childhood

He was born into the family of well-known Kathak performers, Jagannath Maharaj of the Lucknow Gharana. Shri Achhan Maharaj spent most of his time teaching young Birju. He was always seen accompanying his father to cultural events and shows. Apart from his father, Birju Maharaj Ji was also trained by his uncles, Lachhu Maharaj, and Shambhu Maharaj. However, back in 1947, an unfortunate event changed his life forever. When Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji lost his father, his family migrated to Bombay, and he continued his kathak training. When he was 13 years old, he was invited to Delhi to teach children at the Sangeet Bharti.

2. Making Delhi his Home

Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji spent the last decades of his life in the national capital New Delhi. However, this journey of moving from Lucknow and settling down in Delhi was not an easy task. In one of his interviews, he mentioned that he often used to find himself lost in the streets of Delhi. He used to travel down to Regal Cinema and then find his way back home or to his institute.

3. His Life as a Teacher

Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji started teaching Kathak dance when he was just 13 years old. He even headed the team of teachers at the Kathak Kendra. After working as the head of the Faculty at the Kathak Kendra, he retired in 1998.

4. Kalashram- His Dance School

Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji started his own kathak dance school which was known as the Kalashram. For every passionate kathak lover, Kalashram is no less than a dream. The foundation of the school was laid down with the intention to educate students in Kathak. Apart from Kathak dance, the school also offers training in vocal and instrumental music including yoga, painting, Sanskrit, and dramatics. He was a firm believer that a dancer should also have a basic knowledge of music.

5. Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji- Lyricist and Musician

Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji started learning music at the age of 7. He was an excellent singer and had strong control over Thumri, Dadra, Bhajan, and Ghazals. He kept experimenting with new techniques and skills. Moreover, he even tried his hands at writing and wrote a few poems and couplets. He has also written some lyrics for ballet compositions.

6. A Noted Bollywood Personality

Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji was a well-known name in the Bollywood industry. He started his Bollywood career with the movie ‘Shatranj Ke Khilari’, directed by the evergreen and the famous Satyajit Ray. He had composed 2 dance pieces and even lent his voice for the same. In the year 2002, in the film ‘Devdas’, Birju Maharaj had even choreographed the popular song ‘Kaahe Chhed Mohe’.

He also worked as a choreographer in popular movies such as ‘Dedh Ishqiya’, ‘Umrao Jaan’, and ‘Bajirao Mastani’. Birju Maharaj was also a part of the South Indian film industry and made a debut with the song ‘Unnai Kaanatha Naan’ in the Kamal Hassan starrer, ‘Vishwaroopam’.

7. Awards and Laurels Received by Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji

Pandit Birju Maharaj has made some amazing contributions in the field of the Indian film and drama industry. Therefore, for this, he was awarded several awards and honors including the Padma Vibhushan in 1986. He has been the recipient of Kalidas Samman by the Government of Madhya Pradesh. Furthermore, he was also honored with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Soviet Land Nehru Award, and Sangam Kala Award.

Well, apart from this, he was awarded and honored with the Lata Mangeshkar Puruskar in 2002. To add to this, he was also honored with Doctorate degrees from the Khairagarh University and Banaras Hindu University. In the year 2012, Pandit Birju Maharaj was awarded the National Award for the Best Choreography for the movie ‘Vishwaroopam’. In the year 2016, he was awarded the Filmfare Award for the Best Choreography for the film ‘Bajirao Mastani’. These awards and laurels are just a reflection of Pandit Birju Maharaj’s dedication, persistence, and hard work.

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Final Words

With his sudden demise, an era of Kathak dance has come to an end! However, the memories that he has left behind are countless. The entire team of PiggyRide is deeply saddened by the inevitable loss of our beloved Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji! We hope that may the departed soul rest in peace.

Om Shanti!

Originally Published on :- https://www.piggyride.com/blog/a-memorable-walk-through-the-life-of-pandit-birju-maharaj-ji/

10 Best Online Dance Classes For Kids In 2021

If your kid dances to ring tones, or shakes to the tunes of any music that just reaches his/her ears, it’s time to make them explore it and learn dancing. There are a number of online dance classes that your kid can enroll in, Each dance style helps them express themselves and comes with its own benefits.

The key to making kids enroll in any online dance class is to match it with their personality and interests. Let’s deep dive into the 10 Best Online Dance Classes for Kids of 2021, which will include both Indian and western dance styles.

1. Hip Hop Dance Classes

Hip-hop is a fun, and energetic dance style. Early beginners’ classes will teach kids the basic moves, which they’re able to use to improvise dances as they improve. Hip hop can be fun for kids because they get to dance to music they know and do the right moves when guided properly. Hip-hop has also turned out to be one of the best dance classes online for kids.

This dance style requires a lot of body awareness to move certain parts of the body and is a great form of cardio exercise. Hip Hop classes will include the modules such as – How to move to the music and be on the beat, and textures so that dance doesn’t look monotonous, etc. It will emphasize understanding the eight counts and will help learners to move on to every count as a pro.

2. Jazz Dance Classes

Jazz is a sophisticated dance form that expresses and enacts emotions and stories. Jazz dance includes a lot of isolation movements, precise leg, arm, and foot movements, breathtaking jumping techniques, twists and needs huge amounts of enthusiasm and energy to perform.

In Jazz classes, your kid will learn the all-major aspects of this dance form, and in the process, learn about the African-American roots of this dance form. It is a diverse and creative dance form that requires precision and focus, along with the balance of the body.

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3. Contemporary Dance Classes

Contemporary dance is a style of expressive dance that combines several dance genres including modern, jazz, lyrical, and classical ballet. The contemporary classes will help students to connect the mind and will be flexible with their dance movements. This form is dance is challenging and equally with to learn and rewarding for learners.

The Contemporary classes help kids to explore different styles in one course and also enhance different moves and grooves with confidence. If you want your child to master the skills of confidence and grace, you should get them enrolled in contemporary dance classes, as this is another popular dance class online for kids.

4. Belly Dance Classes

Belly Dance is a dance form known to be originated from the Middle East, Mediterranean, and Africa. The online Belly dance classes will help kids to learn belly movements, shimmies, belly rolls, and hips movements to get the real feel of Belly dancing. Belly dance is a non-impact, weight-bearing exercise and is thus suitable for all ages

 Many of the moves involve isolations, which improves the flexibility of the torso. Grab it right away for your kid to make them learn belly dance like a Pro.

5. Bhangra Dance Classes

Bhangra is one of the happiest and most enjoyable dance classes online for kids. It is an integral part of the culture of Punjab. Bhangra classes will liberate your child from holding up and stiffness in the body with its heartwarming and energetic moves and music.

This dance form works best with traditional instruments like dhol and drum but is equally fun with western music. The lyrics of Punjabi bhangra songs usually refer to love, patriotism, and strength and have a sense of celebration.

6. Freestyle Dance Classes

Freestyle dancing provides the freedom of discovering dance moves on your own. It is the best dance style for kids to learn as it offers flexible rules, unlike any other western dance form.

In Freestyle Dance Classes, your kids can expect to learn dancing skills to polish their existing skills to a new level. The dance instructors will offer valuable sessions on understanding beats, crisp footwork, fun groovy moves, graceful steps, and much more.

7. Zumba Dance Classes

Let your kid learn Zumba dancing and impart exercise routine in them which they otherwise hardly find interesting to do on a daily basis. Zumba dance helps in improving coordination, helps in de -Stress, and makes children feel happy. Zumba is an emerging dance trend among children to keep away the daily grind.

The Zumba dance classes online for kids are intended to make children enjoy the beats of music and remain physically fit at the same time.  It will work on the overall strength of children’s physical health.  The classes will include 4 core rhythms – Merengue, Salas, Cumbia & Reggaeton which will help in Zumba Cueing and lead an effective dance workout. 

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8. Bharatanatyam Dance Classes

Bharatanatyam, an impressive classical dance form that needs rigorous practice on wrist movements, facial expressions, and footwork. This glorious dance form has the power of healing and helps build the mind-body connection. It will include exploring- Exercise, Postures/ Alignment (Aramandi/ Sama pada/ Murumandi), Hand gestures, Adavus.

These online dance classes for kids need immense dedication and passion for bringing out the best poses, expressions, and postures.  Get the anklet bells for your little ones and let the dancing begin.

9. Kathak Dance Classes

Kathak dance is all about stories reflected in the dance with perfect hand movements and incredible footwork and facial expressions. Kathak dance involves learning all major aspects – poses, expressions, grace, hand, eye, and body movements, and footwork.

The Kathak dance classes will help in developing rhythmic foot movements, adorned with small bells (Ghungroo), and the movement harmonized to the music.  Students will learn the gestures of arms, upper body movement, facial expressions, neck movements, eyes and eyebrow movement, stage movements, bends, and turns in order to do Kathak flawlessly.

10. Kuchi Pudi Dance Classes

Kuchipudi is a classical dance form from Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi has more rounded poses compared to any other classical dance form. The Kuchipudi dance focuses on the expressive part of the performance (Nritya), where rhythmic hand gestures help to convey the story.

In the Kuchipudi online dance classes for kids, they can learn the steps that are divided into series based on the rigor level. Each level will focus on executing the basics correctly and enhancing different portions flawlessly before moving ahead.

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Well, all online dance classes offered by Piggyride are conducted by top professional dance trainers. The Dance classes are customized based on the age and capability of a student. Each dance style has Beginner, Intermediate, and advanced level classes available.  Trial classes & Free workshops are the cherries on the top.

So What are you waiting for? Kickstart the dance journey for your kid with PiggyRide – the fastest E-learning Platform for kids!

Original Published on : https://www.piggyride.com/blog/online-dance-classes-for-kids-in-2021/