arangetram preparation

shrikrupa · Post by **shrikrupa** » 10 Jun 2008, 04:18

Hello
I am wondering how much ahead of time do the Bharatanatyam gurus finish teaching the items before the arangetram.
I heard, there is this teacher in Santa Clara who doesn't finish teaching atleast 2 weeks ahead of time. And I heard sometimes
the kids even learn an item just 1 week before the A-day. Is this typical? Is there any order generally gurus teach the items?
Any information is greatly appreciated.
--Shri

Umesh · Post by **Umesh** » 10 Jun 2008, 05:50

I imagine this varies quite a bit from guru to guru (and between students as well). I began training well before the date of my arangetram (first week of October), but we were looking for a suitable Siva piece, and didn't find one until September! Ideally, the best thing is to have all the items done at least a month before, but this isn't always possible, and if the student is truly up to arangetram standard, he/she should be able to learn and polish a piece in about 2-3 weeks (with diligent practice and a moderate difficulty level).

There's no standard order I know of for learning arangetram pieces. IMO, to build stamina, it's good to learn the varnam first, then tackle the other nrtta items like tillana, jathiswaram, pushpanjali, and save the padams for last.

uma mathur · Post by **uma mathur** » 25 Jun 2008, 23:20

My daughter did arangetram recently. She learned from a teacher in Fremont. The teacher is very organized and dedicated. The day after we registered for arangetram we were given a schedule for the next year of practices with dates and times. We rarely had to re-schedule a class time. Varnam was finished 6 months ahead. Before 2 months all the pieces were in place. The last two months were spent on practicing and polishing the pieces. One month before the Arangetram my daughter could dance the whole margam even in her sleep. Ideally the more practice they get the better they can bring the rasa out.

nreddy · Post by **nreddy** » 26 Jun 2008, 23:59

Shri Krupa
I am sorry for your situation. I know who you're talking about because there can't be any other teacher as arrogant as your teacher.
She thinks all the parents are her slaves and have no other life besides dance. She doesn't even have a proper assistant and makes the 10 -12 year old kids take the class when she is not around. My daughter did arangetram with her and she didn't finish teaching until one week before. Though the students are pretty good dancers, because of her they do a poor job on stage.