The Art of Noticing

The art of noticing, this is something that has been popping up on my Instagram feed for a long time now, but it is usually with respect to cinema, to characters noticing and remembering something special about their love-interest. The other way that I've seen this is people noticing the world around them. Kathak, isn’t very different, it too demands that sort of attention and when you give it that attention, you experience something incredible. 

Observation is one of the skills which my gurus have tried to inculcate in me since the beginning, but something I still haven’t mastered. I only recently realised the importance of observation, to focus on someone’s dance and catch the nuances, the spark in their eyes and how they accentuate it by subtle tilt of the head a millisecond before. These nuances are far from obvious and usually well hidden by the flashier movements such as those of the hands. However, only when you notice this can you then emulate it in your dance, and these fine details are what separate the good from the great. 

You learn a lot from replication, every person who identifies as self-taught would second that. Think of big artists like Ariana Grande, she can emulate other artists almost perfectly. Not only is it a testament to her skills and range as a vocalist, but also to her skill as a listener- to be able to reproduce someone’s style so perfectly requires attention to detail and keen observation. Just like it is impossible to be a good writer without reading, being a good observer is one of the most important parts of learning Kathak.