TKP094: Darlene Dhillon

Episode Notes Contact us | darlenedhillon Amrita Kathak Global Documentary - YouTube A passionate performer and teacher of Kathak, Darlene Dhillon is a senior student of the legendary Pt. Chitresh Das. She began her training with him at San Francisco State University in 1999 and quickly became involved as a teacher and apprentice company member at his school. Ms. Dhillon has performed at venues like the prestigious Green Music Center in Sonoma, the California State Fair, Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts, and Cal Performances at UC Berkeley. In 2018 she relocated to West Bengal, India for two years to become involved in the rich cultural landscape of the region. While in India she taught workshops at Santiniketan Society of Visual Art and Design and Jogesh Mime Academy in Kolkata. Darlene performed solos at Akar Prakar Gallery in Kolkata, and University of Calcutta. She met the esteemed Kathak guru, Pt. Ashimbandhu Bhattacharya during her travels and began ongoing mentorship with him. Darlene currently runs her school, Amrita Kathak Global in San Francisco. She teaches dance as a way for students to develop their physical and mental strength while learning about the depth of Indian classical music and dance. Her dance company will premiere new choreography at Non-Fiction Design Studios in San Francisco in September, 2022. (0:02:10) Highlight of the day (0:03:22) Nature vs Nuture in the context of dance (0:05:30) Transitioning to full time teaching (0:10:11) Bringing colleagues to Kathak performances (0:11:43) Parallels between architecture and kathak - (0:15:06) A dance drama based on Darlene's life (0:19:55) How do you teach differently than how you were taught (0:22:56) Life skills learned in Kathak (0:25:41) How being in tune with yourself help with compositions (0:26:26) Tips for being more grounded in Kathak (0:28:50) Teaching to kids with multiple interests and classes (0:32:20) Increasing student retention after Kathak graduation (0:34:22) Living in Shantinikentan (0:38:11) Amrita Kathak Global (0:43:38) Fundraising thorugh Kickstarter (0:46:18) Ambitious goals for the future