Aastha Dance Classes

Aastha Dance Classes
Gate Number 9, Plot SDA, 56, Road, near Shivalik Bank, Block C, Sector-45, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201301, India
https://aasthadanceclasses.com/
Aastha Dance Classes is a vibrant cultural hub tucked into the first floor of a cosy, jasmine-painted shop-house on East Patel Road, Jaipur. A bright indigo archway welcomes students—toddlers to grandmothers—into a mirrored studio that smells faintly of rose incense and warmed parquetry. The 600-square-foot space is striped with horizontal dance bars on one side and lined on the other with stacks of colorful ghungroos, dandiya sticks, and spare anklet bells sorted by pitch. At dawn, sunlight slants through turquoise-stained glass, casting lotus-shaped shadows that students jokingly chase as they practice their first foot-tap.

Founded in 2002 by Kathak exponent and tabla player Vidushi Aastha Trivedi, the school blends North-Indian classical tradition with contemporary movement. Beginners start with tatkar footwork on a special shock-absorbent taal mat, while advanced batches rehearse on a contrasting white-wood square embedded with LED markers that flash rhythmic cues in sync with pre-programmed tabla loops. Weekly riyaaz sessions are punctuated by a tanpura drone and the faint click of Aastha-ji’s iPad metronome—she’ll sometimes draw an arc in the air with neon chalk to illustrate a tihai’s spatial trajectory, then wipe it away before the final three claps land.

Beyond Kathak, the schedule unrolls like a festival bazaar: Thursdays are for Haryanvi folk featuring live nagada accompaniment by a shoemaker turned percussionist named Veeru bhai; Fridays explode with Punjabi gidha and hip-hop hybrids choreographed by Aastha’s daughter, Jhanvi, who wears sneakers more than bells now. Saturdays are strictly for Sufi Kathak under ochre lantern light, where students spin in two concentric circles while a visiting harmonium master alters raags mid-spin. A modest library in the corner holds dog-eared LPs of Ali Akbar Khan concerts digitized onto thumb drives, handed out free during annual Moods of Monsoon recitals.

In a tiny adjoining soundproof booth, Aastha records personalized taals—tatadha tig dadha—that students download as mobile-phone ringtones. The fees are income-tiered: street-kids pay with volunteer days helping stitch costumes, while corporate batches subsidize bharatanatyam scholars. Once a year, the troupe follows Aastha, unannounced, to Man Sagar Lake, where they unleash a 45-minute flash-mob Raag Bageshree against the backdrop of Jal Mahal, gulls circling in echo of their hastaks.

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