Lotus Buds is a class offered for young dancers ages four to eleven that employs a synergy of teaching and learning. Each child is seen as a unique individual. It is the teacher's task to coax the highest aptitude, foster joy, understanding and personal creativity. A unique blend of Waldorf, Montessori and the Indian guru-shishya tradition, this class places the rigor of classical technique in a new context of teacher-student dialogue resulting in an intelligent, creative learner. Lotus Buds classes begins with Yoga that is fun (sometimes funny) as it is introduced through verbal metaphors, stories and unexpected comparisons. This leads to basic steps in which students are taught how to move according to the beat as well as acting as on the spot musicians with drums from Africa and India. The class culminates with hand gestures recited, story telling of ancient fables re-phrased, and free-style drawing (of either hands, feet, story as it is heard and perceived, etc). The result is a class framework that while fluid, joyous and synergistic in its learning impact, nevertheless imparts the first stage of Kuchipudi technique. Children are reluctant to leave class well after it is over.
This ancient tradition so widely popular the world over for its benefits is taught as a creative telling in which children participate with postures, hand gestures from classical Indian dance and Sanskrit poems. This interweaving ensures that children have fun participating in asanas (yoga postures), classical dance and music, and stories of wisdom. At the Institute, Yoga is seen as a kind of ecosystem of art and health connected by a shimmering thread of story telling -- both ancient and reinterpreted.
