Junior Dhawan shares her kathak knowledge

PERFORMING: Junior Diya (third from right) performs in Nupur Dance Academy LA"s show, "Udayam - The Rising," in October, 2021. Dhawan has been training in kathak for 11 years and teaching alongside her teacher, Prachi Dixit, for four years. Photo courtesy of Diya Dhawan.

By Elizabeth Goldman

Sports Editor

Junior Diya Dhawan has been training in kathak for 11 years and has been teaching younger kids for the past four years.

“Kathak is [a style of dance] based on portraying Hindu gods and goddesses,” Dhawan said. “This form of dance was originally done in India in different courts and temples, and now it’s transformed itself on stage.”

Dhawan began dancing at Nupur Dance Academy LA at age six. Currently, she typically spends two to three hours in the studio each week, but during weeks leading up to performances or tests, she spends four to six hours.

“I do a type of Indian classical dance called kathak that is based in North India, where I’m from,” Dhawan said. “I had just moved here, and my mom wanted me to start meeting new people and it was a good way for me to connect with my culture being younger.”

Dhawan teaches a class alongside her teacher, Prachi Dixit, for an hour and a half every Sunday. She began teaching when she noticed her Dixit struggling to help everyone with a sudden increase of students. While Dixit instructs with the material, Dhawan helps with more individualized, specific movements and aspects of the lesson. The class is made up of kids ages six to nine.

“I teach alongside my teacher, so I’m still learning while teaching,” Dhawan said. “The kids are very enthusiastic all the time, and it makes it a lot more enjoyable to teach them when they really want to learn and they don’t have any other cares in the world.”

In each class, they work on preparing for shows that happen two or three times a year, or preparing for tests. Dhawan’s studio gives tests affiliated with an academy in India, consisting of both written and dance portions, preparing students to eventually get a degree in kathak.

“Usually, at our studio, we do testing to eventually get a degree in dancing through a school in India, so if we’re not preparing for a show, we are preparing for that test,” Dhawan said. “There’s a dancing portion and a written portion, so we just help them with all aspects of that.”

Currently, Dhawan is beginning to prepare for her Samarpan, where she will be individually dancing for over an hour. This will serve as her culmination of the first level of dance.

“In a year and a half, I’ll be doing something called a Samarpan, which takes about a year to prepare,” Dhawan said. “From there, I just hope to continue to dance a bit in college, no matter where I go, and maintain a relationship with my studio.”