The importance of Performing Arts and Drama in education cannot be overlooked. It provides children the opportunity to hone their cognitive skills as well as enhances the vital life skills, competencies like collaboration, creativity, communication, and character building.
The multifarious activities such as the Nukkad Nataks, Pantomime, Dance recitals in both Western, Contemporary, and Indian Classical, Group performances, Playwriting and Puppetry organized as part of inter and intra school competitions are focused on holistic development. They have been integrated in the curriculum in a manner which provides a unique opportunity to each student to explore their traditions and opens new vistas.
The stage provides a platform to the learners to build their confidence and develop their voice. These activities as most educators will vouch, enhance the emotional intelligence and the benefits transcend and spill into improved academic performance. Further, it helps build the school ecosystem which fosters self-discipline and instils important life skills in the children which prove instrumental in navigating them through future challenges.
MUSIC gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety and life to everything - Plato
In todays age when the young children are trapped in the whirlwind of technology, the school fosters inclusive curriculum which lays paramount importance on Performing Arts.
We believe in developing our students into 21st century- ready citizens, by empowering them with the competencies to understand, analyze, evaluate, interpret and innovate in various real life situations that they will face in the world outside the classrooms or an environment beyond their schools and homes.
The Performing Art curriculum detailed to the finest points encompasses richness of Indian and Western vocal as well as instrumental music, rhythm of Classical, Western and Contemporary dance forms along with enthralling theatrical experience. By creatively engaging in different art forms, exploring and experimenting with instruments, dance and drama , our students learn to respond to the beauty in form, movement, and sound; and develop an aesthetic sensibility. Moreover, by learning about Performing Arts, they begin to respect and accept cultural diversity that exists across the globe.
Every student of the school is expected to pursue an art form as a part of Foundational Domain and is assesses twice a year.
Music - Indian Classical
Indian classical music is a rich tradition that originated in South Asia and can now be found in all corners of the world. Indian classical music is very closely connected to nature, taking inspiration from natural phenomena including the seasons and times of the day to create ragas or musical moods and many time cycles or taals that have been further codified.Compositions are fixed but most of the music is improvised within the structure of notes and mathematics.
There are two distinct traditions that are generally geographically divided between North and South India. They have similar roots and concepts but their elaboration is beautifully contrasted and many different instruments are used.
Dance- Eastern Classical(Kathak)
Native to North India, Kathak is one of the six classical Indian dance forms. Kathak originated within Hindu temples as a storytelling device for portraying the epic tales from Hindu scriptures, Mahabharata and Ramayana. Poetry was combined with rhythmic movement to aid in the worshipful storytelling.
However, the stories didnt stay within the temple walls for long. Nomadic Kathakars, or wandering storytellers, soon began carrying the dances throughout the India. They added emotions and facial expressions to their performances, further developing the dance to include elements of mime. In this way, Kathak transitioned from its secluded, devotional origins to a more accessible, multi-disciplined entertainment tradition.
At DPSG, we encourage our students to learn about this traditional dance form to engage with art, develop art appreciation , understand history of art and how varied traditional dance forms have evolved over years through research and global engagement with artists of other countries
Folk dances are an expression of the daily work and rituals of indigenous communities. These forms of dance closely depict their life, social relationships, work and religious affiliations. They represent the rich culture and customs of their native lands through intricate movements of their bodies. A wide variation can be observed in the intensity of these dances.
These dances are composed mostly on locally made instruments. Percussion instruments feature in most of these dances. Music is produced through indigenous instruments. Music too has its own diversity in these dances with the aesthetics ranging from mild and soothing to strong and weighted rhythms. A few of them also have songs, either sung by themselves or by onlookers. The costumes in Indian Folk Dances vary from traditional saris of a particular pattern to skirts and blouses with mirror work for women and corresponding dhotis and upper-wear for men. They celebrate contemporary events, victories and are often performed as a mode of appeasing the tribal deities.
At DPSG, folk dances are a way of recognizing and respecting our cultural diversity. Students engage in researching a particular folk dance form and learn to master the steps to present them on a shared platform to educate the entire community about the role and relevance of these dances in our culture. We ensure that each student is aware and attached to their cultural roots through such enriching engagements and opportunities.
Dance- Western Classical(Jazz)
The history of Western dance from ancient times to the present includes the development of ballet, waltz, and various types of modern dance. The peoples of the West have a history of dance characterized by great diversity and rapid change. Whereas most dancers of the East repeated highly refined forms of movement that had remained virtually unchanged for centuries or millennia, Western dancers showed a constant readiness, even eagerness, to accept new vehicles for their dancing. From the earliest records, it appears that Western dance has always embraced an enormous variety of communal or ritual dances, of social dances enjoyed by many different levels of society, and of skilled theatrical dances that followed distinct but often overlapping lines of development.
As DPSG prepares global citizens, we greatly encourage our students to learn about various western dance forms and appreciate their beauty and context too. The cultural knowledge that the students gain through this engagement is evident in their language classes and beyond when they identify music, perform steps and hum along in joy and camaraderie.
Theatre is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music, and dance. Elements of art, such as painted scenery and stagecraft such as lighting are used to enhance the physicality, presence, and immediacy of the experience.
The Indian counterpart of theatre are Jatra, Nukkad Natak, Rangmanch , Kathputli shows etc. Modern theatre includes performances of plays and musical theatre. The art forms of ballet and opera are also theatre and use many conventions such as acting, costumes and staging. They were influential to the development of musical theatre.
At DPSG, theatre is an integral part of learning and visible in role plays, mimes, street plays and musicals.
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SWIM AND DANCE
SCHOOL BAND
