This paper was first presented at the “Dance and the Child International Conference in London (U.K.) in 1988 (daCi1988).
The author outlines the salient features of her experience over the first decade (1978 -1988) of teaching Bharata Natya in Montreal, Canada...Read More
September, 2013
I have been toying with the idea that the bantu greeting What do you dance is brilliant and merits being adopted by us dancers, all over the world . A celebration of dance right off the bat at any human contact acting as a koan or aporeia. Imagine how this greeting would change the whole...Read More
What a wonderful contribution you have made to the literature in dance education. The connection between neuroscience and a developmental approach to dance education is certainly the 21st century frontier for the field, and people who can translate the science for dance educators are very much needed...Read More
I think the strength of your book is that it puts very simply the functioning of the brain and the aspects of development through tailored physical activity...Read More
The present study is an important contribution to dance studies. With a scientific approach, the author has shown many ways in which dance training can serve to develop and enhance functions of the human brain-behaviour system. Dance training as a subject more than adequately satisfies the criterion for its inclusion in the school curriculum...Read More
A group of seven Bharata Natya dancers trained at Kala Bharati and based in Montreal, were the first ones to view Shishu Sadhana. I thought it was fitting to share the first viewing of the items with them, as they are the custodians of the Kala Bharati tradition to whom Shishu Sadhana is being bequeathed. I was naturally, delighted to note the excitement in their voices when commenting on each of the items. Their positive and enthusiastic response was indeed reassuring...Read More
Among my many dancer friends, Mamata Niyogi-Nakra, has devoted detailed and meticulous attention to dance training for children. She has put her thoughts in a book form with illustrations and she takes the reader gently into her creative journey, in reader friendly text. The book Shishu Sadhana and the DVD accompanying it has been a result of more than a quarter of a century’s involvement with teaching Bharata Natya in Montreal...Read More
Among the few efforts to create a corpus of items for children, Mamata-Niyogi Nakra’s `Shishu Sadhana’ is unique...Read More
The book describes a scientific basis for defining “whole-child education” and the role that dance training can play in achieving its objectives. A model of the Human Brain-Behaviour System is described, which serves as a scientific basis for defining educational objectives. ...Read More
This book describes the creative process of a classical Bharata Natya repertoire created for children. A DVD is included showing the choreographies. It has been widely distributed and has received high praise for its innovative approach. Experts in India have acclaimed it as path breaking....Read More