ÿþ<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <title>Netra | Center for the Arts</title> <link href="/css/netra.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> </head> <body bgcolor="#000000" style="background-image:url(images/popup-bg.jpg); background-position:top; background-repeat:no-repeat;"> <div style="padding-top:10px"> <a href="/default.aspx">Netra Home Page</a> | <a href="/schedule.html">Schedule</a>| <a href="/class.html">Class</a> | <a href="/events.html">Events </a> | <a href="/collaborators.html">Collaborators</a> | <a href="/PartyHall-in-foster-city.aspx">Party Hall</a> | <a href="/TeachingStaff.aspx">Teaching Staff</a> | <a href="/ContactUs.aspx">Registration</a> </div> <table width="700" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td height="99">&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="49" align="center" valign="middle"><p class="style1"><a href="Schedule.html">Schedule</a> | Class</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="49" align="left" valign="middle"> <h3><span class="style1">Bollywood dance and Indian Classical Dance and Music offered in Foster City</span></h3> Netra Center for the Arts is a unique Arts Center, based in Foster City, that specializes in offering best in class training in various forms of Indian Classical dance and music. We offer weekly classes in the following dance and music forms: <ul> <li>Bollywood dance</li> <li>Traditional dance form of Kuchipudi </li> <li>Traditional dance form of Mohiniattam </li> <li>Carnatic Vocal Music</li> <li>Instrumental Music (Harmonium, Keyboard, Veena)</li> </ul> <p>At Netra we strive to teach Indian Classical Dance in the pure classical style as taught in the Guru-Sishya prampara along with theory and stories from well know Indian mythology. We are deeply committed to the time tested traditions of teaching, practice and performance. Yoga will be part of the curriculum with appropriate emphasis on perfection in the technical aspects of dance. </p> <p>Bollywood dance classes are offered for both Adults and small children. The class for small children is conducted in such a way that it is fun for the kids while also giving them an introduction to the finer elements of dance with emphasis on fluidity, grace and facial expressions. The class for Adults will include a unique mix of dance, choreography and cardio activity.</p> <p> Instruments will be taught in Netra according to the students interest. Harmonium and keyboard are at present taught in Netra. </p> <p> <span class="highLight"> <h2> Fees </h2></span> Registration - $20 <br /> Classical Dance and Music - $ 80 flat fees for the month with 50% off any second art form and so on.<br /> Painting - $80 for the month<br /> Bollywood dance /folk dance is $60 flat. <br /> Yoga and Meditation - $10. For students enrolled in Netra, Yoga will be free.<br /> Heritage classes - If enrolled in Netra the classes are free. If not fees is $20 per month( cost of materials)<br /> Family and sibling discount - 10%<br /> Referral - 10%<br /> </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <span class="highLight">Classical Dance </span> - "Rome wasn t built in a day and neither will your dance practice be. Be patient and loving with yourself and try to focus on the journey". Indian Classical dance is one of the oldest in the world. India has a very rich tradition of classical and non-classical dance. The Natya Shastra, which is the oldest surviving text on stagecraft in the world, spends a considerable time discussing it. In the old days of the theatre, the dancers would mime the story while the singers would sing the dialogue. The instrumentalists would accompany them all. The nature of the old theatre was such that the dancers occupied a central position. For many centuries the dancers were attached to the temples. This maintained a strong religious flavour to dance. Even today many of the traditional themes are mythological in nature. Over the centuries different areas have given their own colour to the ancient classical tradition. Today the acknowledged classical styles are: Bharatnatyam of Tamil Nadu, Kathakali of Kerala, Kuchipudi of Andhra Pradesh, Manipuri of Northeast India, Orissi from Orissa, and Kathak from north India and Pakistan. Each of these styles has a strong regional connection and none can claim to be representative of the entire Indian subcontinent. <br /> <br /> <span class="highLight"> Classical Music ( Carnatic and Hindusthani) </span>- The music of India is said to be one of the oldest unbroken musical traditions in the world. It is said that the origins of this system go back to the Vedas (ancient scripts of the Hindus). Many different legends have grown up concerning the origins and development of Indian classical music. Such legends go a long way in showing the importance that music has in defining Indian culture. However the advent of modern historical and cultural research has also given us a good perspective on the field. This has shown that Indian music has developed within a very complex interaction between different peoples of different races and cultures. It appears that the ethnic diversity of present day India has been there from the earliest of times. The basis for Indian music is "sangeet". Sangeet is a combination of three artforms: vocal music, instrumental music and dance. Although these three artforms were originally derived from the single field of stagecraft. Today these three forms have differentiated into complex and highly refined individual artforms. The present system of Indian music is based upon two important pillars: rag and tal. Rag is the melodic form while tal is the rhythmic. Rag may be roughly equated with the Western term mode or scale. There is a system of seven notes which are arranged in a means not unlike Western scales. However when we look closely we see that it is quite different what we are familiar with. The tal (rhythmic forms) are also very complex. Many common rhythmic patterns exist. They revolve around repeating patterns of beats. The interpretation of the rag and the tal is not the same all over India. Today there are two major traditions of classical music. There is the north Indian and the south Indian tradition. The North Indian tradition is known asHindustani sangeet and the south Indian is called Carnatic sangeet. Both systems are fundamentally similar but differ in nomenclature and performance practice. Many musical instruments are peculiar to India. The most famous are the sitar and tabla. All of this makes up the complex and exciting field of Indian classical music. Its understanding easily consumes an entire lifetime. <br /><br /> <span class="highLight">Painting </span>- Painting is a mode of expression and the forms are numerous. Drawing, composition or abstraction and other aesthetics may serve to manifest the expressive and conceptual intention of the practitioner. Paintings can be naturalistic and representational (as in a still life or landscape painting), photographic, abstract, be loaded with narrative content, symbolism, emotion or be political in nature. A portion of the history of painting in both Eastern and Western art is dominated by spiritual motifs and ideas; examples of this kind of painting range from artwork depicting mythological figures on pottery to Biblical scenes rendered on the interior walls and ceiling of The Sistine Chapel, to scenes from the life of Buddha or other scenes of eastern religious origin. The different mediums of painting are Oils, Acylic, Watercolors, Fresco, Ink, Spray paint, Gouche, Enamel etc. <br /><br /> <span class="highLight">Bollywood Dance/ Folk Dance </span>- Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Bollywood dance was initially taken from the indian movies and today its turned into a culture where fusion, semi-classical, pop, fitness are all mixed in to create an exciting, heart-racing and exciting beat which has everybody tapping to! In Netra Bollywood dance is mixed with semi-classical, fusion, western dances, fitness and folk. Folk dances - Folk dances will be choreographed to Folk songs and semi-classical music. Evolving from a fusion of Classical ( Kuchipudi, Bharatnatyam, Odissi, Kathak), Folk (Bhangra, Bihu, Garba, Lavani, Lambadi, Rajasthani), folk dances create a visual extravaganza. <br /><br /> <span class="highLight"> Yoga and Meditation </span> - We will be following Iyengar Yoga, developed by B.K.S. Iyengar, is one of the oldest styles around and therefore has a well-developed, systematic approach that is often optimal for beginners. Iyengar focuses on structural alignment of the body in each pose; therefore, teachers spend time getting students into each posture and often use props to help them attain correct alignment. Poses, usually held for one to three minutes, provide a solid basis for any yoga practice, by building inner strength, opening the body safely and deepening the mind-body connection. The goal is to get the physical body in line with the mental body, the mental body in line with the intellectual body and the intellectual body in line with the spiritual body so each are balanced. Each asana has an optimal line or position - from the head to the foot, from the front to the back, from the right to the left - without deviation, without distortion. In over 1000 published research studies, various methods of meditation have been linked to changes in metabolism, blood pressure, brain activation, and other bodily processes. Meditation has been used in clinical settings as a method of stress and pain reduction. <br /><br /> <span class="highLight"> Heritage classes</span> - We will be teaching slokas, Indian Mythology and Indian culture to kids. Educating kids about Hindu religion, culture and values through Slokas. As the proverb goes " Knowledge is power". An indepth knowledge about Indian culture and traditions, the rich mythology and slokas will only help a child in his/her development.. <br /><br /> <span class="highLight">Youth and senior programs coming......</span> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" valign="top" class="style3">&nbsp;</td> </tr> </table> </body> </html>