Flamenco romances kathak

Varanasi, Jan 9: In what may sound to be a dancing romance between the east and the west, a Flamenco dancer-cum-beautician from Spain is learning the nuances of kathak in this ancient city.

The dancer from Barcelona is not the only Spanish beauty in love with the classical dance form of northern India, but has been joined by Laura and Rosa -- two compatriots -- at the Kathak school run by eminent Kathak dancer and tabla player Mata Prasad.

The Kathak guru has rechristened his three Spanish 'shishyas' as Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati whose dance training is provided the rightful 'sangat' on tabla by none other but Ernesto, a young forester from Madrid.

''Flamenco is more about rhythm, while Kathak is the creative amalgam of rhythm and feelings best suited to portray the various episodes in the life of Krishna and Shiva,'' exuded Vanesa, a trainee flamenco dancer of a Barcelona dance academy, who fell in love with Kathak after visualising Mata Prasad perform on stage in Madrid three years ago and immediately became his disciple.

''I am in love with Kathak and may be one day I can create a new dance form combining both shoe-wearing flamenco and naked-toed Kathak... which seems quite difficult right now,'' averred Vanesa.

Learning with Vanesa to perform 'shiv vandana, thaat, upaj, tukra, tor, paran, chakardhar and gat bol' are Laura and Rosa, who feel mastery over the art could one day see them portraying the tale of Krishna's Raas Leela and Makhan Chori or else Shiva's anger 'Rudra' through the bhav, mudra and taal of Kathak on stage in Madrid.

''Flamenco is more masculine while Kathak is more feminine which suits Spanish girls like us. We took to Kathak in the beginning for fun but have now made it a serious affair,'' said Rosa, who teaches Spanish to students at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) here besides learning Hindi at the same central university.

The Kathak guru of the Spanish troika, however, adds an interesting twist to flamenco-Kathak romance. ''At least 150 Spanish flamenco dancers both male and female have learnt Kathak from me and one of them Florence Pear performs both Kathak and Flamenco on stage in the Catalan country. Among all my foreign students Spanish are most inclined towards Kathak,'' Mata Prasad claimed.

''Being flamenco dancers which is rhythm based dance form, they quickly adapt to learning Kathak, which artistically combines both rhythm and feelings,'' he added.

While Rosa and Vanessa are still learning Indian dance form, Laura from South Spain has already showcased her dancing prowess in India by presenting a stirring blend of Rajasthani and Arabian dance among the new year revellers of Jodhpur recently. ''I dream of performing Kathak on stage in India as well as Spain sometime in future.''

UNI