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“We are grateful for all of Jayanthi’s efforts to bring the beauty and artistry of India to our community and as a result breaking down cultural barriers among people.” Jayne Scott, Executive Director, Beaverton Arts Commission.

Local Bharatha Natyam dance maven Jayanthi Raman offers a peek at and primer on classical Indian dance with backup from a live orchestra at the Beaverton City Library. Raman, who's been crafting and performing modern takes on the centuries-old South Asian dance form for nearly two decades, is an energetic and mesmerizing performer. Plus, she also runs her own dance school, so she’s used to educating newbies.....  Kelly Clark Willamette Week, July 2009

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING DETAILS

Raman is the founder and artistic Director of the NATYA Dance Academy, founded in 1993 based in Portland, Oregon. She celebrated the 20th year anniversary of her dance school in 2013 with a grand dance ballet and outreach events featuring her students, to a full house and appreciative audience. She teaches adults and children of all ages and backgrounds not only the art of dance but also the culture and traditions of India. She has presented the dance graduation or Arangetram of her students in Portland, receiving glowing tributes from the community as a teacher.

Dr. Raman’s dance school in Portland, OR offers students of all levels the opportunity to study Bharata Natyam under the guidance of the artistic director. Through numerous performances, as well as thorough lecture demonstrations, workshops and collaborations with other artists, Raman has created widespread awareness of Indian performing arts traditions.

Artistic Director Dr. Jayanthi Raman has been involved in educational programming since 1990. Dr. Raman’s strong commitment to the community is reflected in its highly popular educational outreach programs conducted by her. The Company's presence has been felt in schools, Colleges and Universities throughout of the country.

At home in Portland, OR, the company spends time working in schools and local educational and art institutions. The Company provides a variety of residency activities including master classes, workshops, lecture demonstrations and for school assemblies; always emphasizing the background, cultural context, history, technique, style and movements characteristic of Indian dances.

She has worked at local schools through the AIE Roster and Young Audiences. She continues to work at schools among her busy schedule taking time to give back to the community. She has taught workshops at Reed College, and at Portland State University, Portland Community college locally. She has written articles for the Dance Happenings magazine and for Indian Cultural Association newsletter.

On the 2004 tour of the US, Raman was the consummate cultural ambassador receiving standing ovations from audiences for her talks, lectures and classes on Indian dance, music, culture, traditions and heritage with her vast knowledge covering diverse topics and her ability as an inspiring orator.

Dr. Raman has served on the Board of the Beaverton Arts Commission and has organized and hosted multicultural events in the community. She has served on the RACC grant panel for grant and fellowship programs. She has served as cultural coalition leader for the Washington County panel of the Oregon Cultural Trust.

Raman actively donated her time and effort for fund raising concerts helping India including for AID- Association for India’s Development and other charitable causes like the Good Samaritan ministries locally.

Raman was asked to talk about diverse topics at the various Universities, colleges and for general audiences (from Portland, Vermont, Atlanta, New York, Florida, Spokane, Seattle, Corvallis etc!).

Her lecture on the history of Indian dance along with Padmasri Guru Adyar Lakshman, supported by grant from the Oregon Council for Humanities in September 2004, was well received by the public.

She is well known as one of the founders of the non-profit organization: Rasika (www.rasika.org) which serves to preserve and promote the performing arts of India in the Portland and surrounding areas.

Dr. Raman has served as voluntary board member and as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for Rasika and has organized and hosted educational events promoting Indian arts, culture and traditions since 1999, coordinating grant projects funded by NEA, Oregon Arts Commission, RACC, Oregon Council for Humanities and American Library Association.

With an MD in Medicine and Master's degree in Computer Science and Informatics, Raman pursues dancing passionately.

LECTURES: Digital slide presentation on various topics listed below with an interactive Q & A session at the end of the lecture.

Origin of Dance in India: the historical and mythological perspectives. The influence of the monarchy and the temples on Indian classical dancing is discussed along with the stories of the dances descending down from the heavens --from the Gods to the mortals as described in the ancient literary works of dance.

The downfall and renaissance of dance in India: The devadasi system, the courtesans and temple dancers, the effect of the British rule of India and the ban on the devadasi system, the almost disappearance of the classical dance system, the revival of the art form and it's current grandeur from socio-cultural and political perspectives are discussed.

Dance in South India: The ancient art survived undisturbed by Persian and Mughal influences (unlike Kathak) through centuries handed down as oral tradition, passed through practitioners and teachers of this sacred form. Temples sculptures and paintings are shown and the various postures and hand gestures explained in context to dance.

LECTURE-DEMONSTRATIONS: The lectures are interspersed with short performances to help audiences understand the traditional and cultural as well as the religious context and follow along.

Margam of solo classical dance: The margam (or path) of a solo dance concert is demonstrated and its structure formatted by the famous Tanjore quartet- the four brothers hundreds of years ago illustrated with short segments.

Talas of dance: The rhythmic components and the  complex rhythm patterns of dance are based on the classical carnatic music system of South India. This is explained with dance illustrations. The audiences keep the beat and the dancers dance to the patterns of the beat.

Bhava - Abhinaya of dance: The expressions and story telling aspect of dance are explained with short simple social and mythological stories danced with explanations provided. The meanings and symbolism of the codified hand gestures of classical dance are shown.

WORKSHOPS: for small groups and large assemblies are presented with hands on teaching of dance techniques, movement and vocabulary of the dances, translating from the traditional to a more contemporary framework. Basics of the dance are taught, with simple dance items.

OTHERS: Generalized lectures, demonstration or workshops on Indian dance and other topics also presented as per the school, institution or organization's specific requirements. Honorarium includes preparation time, travel time, fee etc. based on the format selected, duration of the event and distance to the location.

Please contact jayanthiraman@frontier.com or Rasika for scheduling.

 

 

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