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Yogaville Summer
Gurukulam
Camps
The
Dhananjayans
have been conducting the summer
Gurukulam camps at the
Satchidananda Ashram,
Yogaville, Virgina, USA,
continuously from 1988. The camp
is usually held
in the July-August time of the
year enabling dancers from the
USA and other
parts of the world to take part.
This camp, a concentrated course
developed
by the Natya Adyayana Gurukulam,
in the beautiful Virginia
countryside,
has helped spread awareness of
Indian culture and values to
American born
Indian children, and other
students of different parts of
the globe, to
understand the values of Indian
art and culture, and of course,
philosophy
and significance of our Indian
mythology and the characters in
the epics.
It is an intensive, fulltime
residential course devoted
entirely to the
fine arts. Theory of
Bharatanaatyam is taught along
with its origin, development
and philosophic content.
Carnatic music and study of
Samskritam go hand-in-hand
with the dance lessons. Yoga is
taught and practiced to improve
stamina.
So is meditation to improve
concentration.
95 year young dynamic lady Rukmini Rasiah has taken it to this 25th year
of Fine Arts Society�s Gurukulam summer camp at Yogaville, Virgnia,
USA. Meticulously following the three �D� success formula enunciated
by the founder of Yogaville - Swami Satchidananda Maharaj (Discipline,
Devotion and Dedication) this has been a trend setting community service
movement started 25 years ago involving the living legends of
Bharatanatyam - The Dhananjayans ably assisted by their ardent disciple
Padmarani Rasiah Cantu.
For
the rest
of the year, at the Fine Arts
society, Yogaville, one of the
Dhananjayans�
top senior disciples Padmarani
Rasaih Cantu, trains pupils from
Buckingham
and the surrounding counties.
Padmarani Cantu is the full-time
instructor
in the Fine Arts society of
Yogaville.
The
children
who attend this summer camp come
from all over the globe, but a
majority
from the US. Camps for American
children means fun and it took a
while
for the camp participants to
realize that this was a camp
with a difference.
With love and patience, the
Dhananjayans have won over the
confidence of
these initially confused
children who were torn between
obeying their parents�
dictate to learn Indian values
and following the American way
of life.
The
children
who attend the camp spread the
education they receive at the
camp to their
friends, who in turn, speak to
their friends and so on, the
chain reaction
increasing the popularity of the
Yogaville camp year by year.
Some teachers
also attend the camp as a
refresher course for themselves,
reflected in
the remarkably high standard of
instruction in their dance
schools.
No
distinction
is made for students of
different schools of
Bharatanaatyam. For the
Dhananjayans,
there are only two styles - the
good and the bad.
Being silver jubilee year, it was a
great event at the Yogaville community where students past and
present from all around the globe congregated to celebrate,
living and learning in the company of their masters Shanta and
Dhananjayan fondly addressed as Akka & Anna.
This year, from July 6 -31, 2013 in two sessions of this unique living
Gurukulam, the Dhananjayans say they will �call it a day� after all
these years of highly successful summer camps, teaching Bharatanatyam
and its allied subjects in a foreign land in an atmosphere of �Home away
from home.� It is one of its kind as far as Bhaarateeya Kala and
Samskaara (Art and culture of India) is concerned.
*A HOME AWAY FROM HOME*
24th Natya Adyayana Gurukulam Conducted by the Fine Arts Society of Yogaville, Satchidananda Ashram, Virginia, USA.
All level camp: July 6th to July 22nd 2013
Intermediate and Advanced level camp: July 22nd to July 31st 2013
* Naatya Adhyayana Instructors: The Dhananjayans, Padmarani Rasiah Cantu
* Assistant teacher: Kannan Rasiah
* Yoga Instructors: Swami Gurucharanananda Mataji, Swami Priyaananda Mataji
Contact: fasyogaville@hotmail.com / prcan2@gmail.com
Photos - Yogaville Naatya Adhyayana Gurukulam Gurupoornima celebrations on July 20, 2013
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/divinedesignworks/sets/72157634525240539/
Yogaville, Satchidananda Ashram FINE ARTS SOCIETY celebrated it's silver jubilee on July 21st 2013.
Report ; Photos
Photos of the 2nd camp
The Yogaville Experience
- Krithika Shurajit, www.kutcheribuzz.com, 11 October 2013
https://www.kutcheribuzz.com/kb-special/kb-columns/1432-yogaville-experience
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The 23rd Naatya Adhyayana Gurukulam summar camp at Yogaville Virginia, USA - 2011
July 2 - Aug 2, 2011
23rd year Naatya Adhyayana Gurukulam , FAS Yogaville virginia, USA
(Yogaville camp 2011) A HOME AWAY FROM HOME
The 23rd annual Naatya
Adhyayana Gurukulam camp conducted by The Dhananjayans in
Yogaville, Virginia USA was held between July 2nd to 23rd (1st
camp) and July 24th to 2nd August ( 2nd camp).
One of its kind in the world. Unique learning experience directly
from the legendary dancing couple of India - The Dhananjayans assisted
by Padmarani Rasiah Cantu. Training courses included Naatya, (practical
& theory) Nattuvangam, Sangeetam, Bhajan, Yoga, cultural
discourses, lectures on philosophy and integrated art education.
YOGAVILLE GURUKULAM SENIOR CAMP JULY 24th TO AUGUST 2nd
Unique opportunity to
learn our special NRITYOPAHAARAM (Mohanakrishna
padavarnam in Mohana Raagam) with unusual episode from
Krishna stories in Sanchari, a very special and difficult
item to learn - taught only to those advance students
joining the second camp after assessing the good standard of
the student..."
For more details contact:
FAS: 434 969 3210 ; email:
fasyogaville@hotmail.com
Padma Rasiah Cantu: 804 262 6281 ; email: prcan2@gmail.com.
Report ; Photos
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The 22nd Naatya Adhyayana Gurukulam summar camp at Yogaville Virginia, USA - 2010
FIRST CAMP JULY 3RD TO 24TH
AND
SECOND CAMP FROM JULY 25TH TO AUGUST 3RD |
 The 21st Naatya Adhyayana Gurukulam summar camp at Yogaville Virginia, USA - 2009
The 2009 Gurukulam camp was held from July 8th to August 3rd 2009
1st camp - (All level)
July 8th - July 25th (18 days)
2nd camp - (Intermediate & Senior)
July 25th - August 3rd - (10 days)
Photos by Vijay
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The 20th Naatya Adhyayana Gurukulam summar camp at Yogaville Virginia, USA - 2008
Details (loads in a new window) |
The 19th Naatya Adhyayana Gurukulam summar camp at Yogaville Virginia, USA - 2007
Details ; Photo Album
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Dhananjayan
relates
an incident that perhaps best
underlines the purposeful motive
behind the program.
�We were
enrolling the participants when
a brother and sister came in.
The girl
looked in astonishment at me and
remarked, �You are the Guru? You
look
so primitive!��
�She was
about 13, wearing brief shorts
and a brief t-shirt and in her
perception,
wearing a dhoti and kurta was
primitive to her. On the formal
camp inauguration
the next day, we had a
full-fledged pooja with
mantrams, followed by a
talk with the parents.
I called
this girl and asked her what her
definition of primitive was. In
typical
American accent, she said half
clad, tribal, crude and so on. I
asked her
how civilization started. She
said people started wearing
bark, then leaves,
then skin and finally covered
themselves completely in
clothes. With a
smile, I asked her how she would
describe her extremely brief
attire of
the earlier day. When she
realized the import of her
careless remark of
the earlier day, she burst into
tears and ran away from class!
It was not
our intention to humiliate
anyone; it was just that she
realized how the
description of primitive had
bounced back on her.�
�She realized
how mistaken she was in her
values and changed her outlook
on life. She
is now a doctor and proud of her
Indian heritage. Kids who used
to hate
India started coming to India.
Some even worked with Mother
Theresa with
the Calcutta street children.�
In
this dance
camp, the Dhananjayans have
followed the same system of
learning as in
Kalakshetra�the gurukulam.
Prompted by the rootless ness in
the Indian
community in America, they
wanted to contribute to the
propagation of Indian
culture in the minds of the
younger generation.
�When we
performed in Yogaville in 1988,
I felt that this ashram was an
ideal place
for learning�just like
Kalakshetra. The weekend
workshop format was inadequate
for learning Bharatanaatyam, so
we decided to extend it over a
whole month.
This way, we can do justice to
the art form, and also introduce
the idea
of a different approach to
learning�the gurukulam, of
students living with
their teachers.�
The
Dhananjayans
had to adapt their teaching
methods to accommodate the
children there,
as they found that the
expectations and behaviour of
the children there
were very different from those
in India.
�We had
many discussions about the way
of life in India. I hope it has
corrected
their misconceptions about
Indians as superstitious and
orthodox, and made
them feel proud of their
cultural background.�
To
children
like them everywhere,
Dhananjayan, as a teacher, has
this to say:
�Do not
feel inferior in a Western
society. Do not lose your own
identity. You
can be justifiably proud of your
own culture. You have the
potential to
be a beautiful dancer, a
beautiful person.�
To
the parents,
he adds:
�Parents
think that just by learning
Bharatanaatyam or Kathak, or
Indian classical
music, their children will
become more Indian�It is not so.
They must create
an environment in the home to
encourage Indian values. Parents
must themselves
feel proud of being Indian.�
For
course
dates or for general
information, please contact:
Natya-Adyayana-Gurukulam
Camp
Fine
Arts
Society
Satchidananda
Ashram-Yogaville
Buckingham,
Virginia
23921
Ph:
(804)
- 969 � 3210
Email:
fasyogaville@hotmail.com
or prcan2@hotmail.com
or swchidananda@yahoo.com
Calls:
9am
� 12 noon, 4pm � 6pm only.
A
few words
from students who have
participated over the years�
| �The camp is unique;
not only in its setting but the gifted gurus who guide students
at different levels to make that transition to better dancers�The
lessons learnt will be with me for a long time.�
- Prashanti Selvaratnam, New Zealand, 1998
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| �I am very grateful
that living in America, kids like me have the opportunity to learn
dance like it is taught in India. I know that camp has made a
profound impact on my life in many inexpressible ways.�
- Divya Shenoy, 1998
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| �This is the third camp
I have attended�To be guided, taught by and to be in the company
of our gurus in such a close gathering is a unique experience��
- Radha Dutta (Bharatha Natyam teacher in Maryland), 1998
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| �I was pleasantly
surprised to experience a gurukulam environment in this day and age.
I will always treasure this time; not only for the knowledge I
gained but also for the wonderful people I met, all in the most
beautiful setting. I sincerely wish the camp many more years of
success.�
- Manisha Thaker, UK, 1998
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| �We have enjoyed camp
and have improved on our posture and steps � all in all our dancing
has been fine tuned. Camp is an all round training, lots of fun
and very challenging. We would love to come again.�
- Hari & Eshwara Jayarajan, Australia, 1997
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| �Thanks for a wonderful
month! It was very educational. I learnt to love, share, care
and cooperate. It was an interesting experience.�
- Puja Pandya, 1993
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| �I have attended the
camp for 4 years. I have learnt not only Bharatanaatyam, but also
how to get along with and help others. I learned to be more
independent, organized and disciplined in my daily life. I had fun
and learnt a lot at the same time. I hope the camp will
continue for many years to come and I look forward to coming as
many times as possible.�
- Anuradha Subramaniam, 1993
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- Photo
Album
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