Singing to faciliatate Bharatanatyam for creative aging

Singing as a way to facilitate Bharatanatyam for creative aging 

Whiteboard with swarams of Carnatic music at the YM & YWHA on Nagle Avenue, NYC

In the last few posts, we saw how we can use modalities such as visual art, words, and poetry to supplement the engagement of older adults in creative aging. In this post, I will talk about the use of music and its nuances to help give participants additional ways to engage. 

My gurus Smt. Maheshwari Nagarajan and Smt. Vanitha Jayan of Nritya Kala Kendra, Ahmedabad have always encouraged their students to gain as much knowledge as possible about music, costumes, props etc to be holistic practitioners. I am so lucky to be able to learn Carnatic music from Smt. Nivedita ShivRaj of RagaChitra Fine Arts.

At the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood, participants learn basics of Carnatic music and rhythm in addition to movement-based aspects of Bharatanatyam and Indian folk dance to engage our bodies, minds, and vocal cords!

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