About:
Ajna Dance Company
Ajna is passionate about bringing South Asian culture and fitness to students of all ages and backgrounds through dance and movement. We proudly support the arts in education and use our programs to take students out of their comfort zones into appreciating new cultures and healthier lifestyles. Our experienced teaching artists conduct assemblies, residencies, workshops and afer-school classes. We can cater our programming to each school’s specific needs. Our longer workshops and residencies build each week and culminate with a student showcase and performance. We teach students a unique blend of Folk dance, Classical Indian styles and Bollywood dance to give them an authentic, thorough understanding of Indian dance in a way that is fun and interactive. We work with students of all ages ranging from pre-school to college.
Indian Dance Residencies, Workshops, and Assemblies Catered to Students of All Ages
Over the past five years, Ajna has worked with over 100 tristate area schools like PS20, PS87, PS4, PS244, PS208, and PS536, to share Indian art, culture, and history with students of all ages and backgrounds. Our programs offer a unique and interactive way for students to gain greater cultural awareness and learn dance technique including facial expressions and story telling through movement. Our programs span Bollywood dance, Bhangra and Garba (Indian folk styles), and Bharatanatyam and Kathak (Indian classical styles), and teach the history and cultural significance behind each of them.
ASSEMBLIES Ajna ofers 45-60 minute Indian dance assemblies with 2-6 dancers that include a detailed and interactive presentation, performance by our teaching
artists and a dance workshop. Our highly successful format touches on concepts in geography, history and social studies in addition to dance and movement. In the interactive portions we cover aspects of Classical styles, Folk dance and Bollywood. As Bhangra and Bollywood music is upbeat, positive and fun, it is
very relatable for students of all backgrounds. The assemblies conclude with the students learning a fun Bollywood or Bhangra choreography.
RESIDENCES Ajna ofers 5-20 week residencies in Bollywood, folk, and classical Indian dance. Long-term programs allow us to take a deeper dive into the historical context and technical intricacies of the dance styles. All of our residencies culminate with a student performance complete with formations and costumes. Our residencies include an emphasis on increased cultural awareness, physical education, social studies, the use of paterns in rhythm and counting and team work since the students are performing together as a group.
WORKSHOPS Ajna also ofer workshops for individual classes or grades, clubs or small groups of students or faculty. We can come in for a single period or hour and share an interactive session of Indian dance. Classes can focus on classical, folk or Bollywood dance and can emphasize dance technique or fitness. This is a great
experience for smaller clubs and classes that want to have a smaller, more personalized experience. This type of session works well around the festivals of Diwali or Holi or during Asian American Pacific Heritage Month and can tie into classes studying South Asia or India.
AFTER-SCHOOL CLASSES Ajna offers specialized after school classes for students and clubs in pre-school through university. Our classes bring Indian culture to students in the form of dance and music. We teach students high energy Bollywood, Bhangra and/or Classical Indian dance which all include aspects of culture, movement and fitness. We aim to bring students a unique view of their global community through the arts.
Ages:
College, Elementary School, High School, Kindergarten, Middle School, Nursery, Prekindergarten, Preschool