TKP 070: Kalpana Subbarao
Episode Notes
Episode Links
Kalpana Subbarao – Dance is the language of her soul (wordpress.com)
Kalpana Subbarao - YouTube
Kalpana Subbarao (@kalpanasubbarao) • Instagram photos and videos
Bio
Kalpana Subbarao is an artist with over 20 years experience in Indian classical dance forms, Kathak and Bharatanatyam. As a 2018-2019 Artist in Residence for Dance Source Houston, she produced a collaborative show on Kathak-Flamenco with 7 other artists from Houston. In 2021, she extended this work with an original new piece titled Ritmo Zindagi that premiered at the Miller Outdoor Theater. She has been a solo artist at the Barnstorm Dance Festival. She is a certified Teaching Artist through Young Audiences of Houston/University of Houston. She studied Bharatanatyam in a traditional setting in India. A recipient of a 3-year scholarship from the Sangeet Nritya Academy, she holds the 1st rank in the Senior and Vidwat (Proficiency) exams. Currently, she practices Kathak and is a disciple of Pandit Sontosh Kumar Chatterjee for the past 9 years. She is a student of rhythm with Pandit Divyang Vakil for the past 2 years. In 2021, she completed a 15-day workshop on Navarasa Sadhana, a system of acting methodology for dancers, conducted by Guru G. Venu. She has performed in USA, India and Malaysia. She has conceptualized, co-created, co-choreographed and directed an evening-length production of Kathak-Flamenco, A Celebration of Cultures. As a choreographer, she showcased her work, Beloved, at the Mind The Gap show in 2017. She was the lead choreographer for Kathak in Silambam Houston Dance Company’s production, Kāvya: Poetry in Motion staged at Miller Outdoor Theater (2018) and MATCH (2017) in Houston. Kalpana teaches Kathak for Silambam Houston at their Pearland and Heights locations. She has a Master’s degree in Computer Science from University of Houston and has previously worked as an engineer.
Show Highlights
(0:02:30) Getting back on stage after a year
(0:04:26) Kathak in Houston
(0:06:06) Kathak Flamenco collaboration
(0:12:47) What do you look for in youur collaborators
(0:21:53) Being Friends outside of collaborations
(0:24:09) how taalvidya has changed the way you see dance
(0:25:45) Doing online classes pre-pandemic
(0:33:37) Transitioning from Bharatnatyam to Kathak
(0:37:21) How do you teach differently?
(0:48:59) Restarting after a long gap
(0:54:24) Future projects
Title Track Audio Credit: Doug Maxwell | Bansure Raga