Document text
MONDAY February 23, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels November 21, 2003 Sharing the dance of the east By Susan DeRosia Ashland Daily Tidings Andrea Luchese of Ashland shares her experience in India with students from Waldorf Independents Class at Clay Street Community Church of God Wednesday. Satsuki Doi | Ashland Daily Tidings Andrea Luchese began dancing at the age of 5, but it wasn't until she studied Indian dance that she realized she'd finally found her true expression. This week she shared her love of Indian dance and culture with students in Janet Horn's 5th Grade Waldorf class at Clay Street Community Church. Luchese recently returned from a trip to Madras, India, where she studied the culture and dance of India. Horn saw Luchese perform the classical Indian dance at a birthday party last summer. When she was preparing to have her class study ancient India, Horn called Luchese to invite her to visit the class after they spent three weeks studying the material. Clad in a simple Indian sari, Luchese talked with the students about her experiences during the five months she spent living and studying in Madras. There were many differences, she told the class. "You see the range of human experience much more than in a place like Ashland," she said. "I could be sitting outside my home and see a car driving by and then, right away, see a man sitting on a wooden cart being pulled by an ox. Or you might see a man drive by in a Mercedes and sleeping on the median there would be a poor person sleeping on the median strip. Things in India are not as compartmentalized, as organized, as here in the United States." She explained to the class the dance form, Bharata Natyam, a combination of pure dance and communicative dance with emotional acting and facial expressions and gestures to convey the stories from the Hindu tradition. Luchese also taught the class a series of mudras, or hand gestures, and explained how they convey stories from Hindu tradition. She was pleasantly surprised to learn that the children had learned so much about the Indian deities, and they recognized the names of Hindu gods, Vishnu, Shiva and Ganesh. "They were entranced by Andrea," Horn said. "After ward the kids gathered around her and asked questions, like: Is it like it is here? What do the people eat? They were so curious." On Wednesday, after taking the 2 hours necessary to prepare her clothes and extensive make-up, Luchese danced for the class. Her recital, which lasted 1 1/2 hours included some very difficult moves, which she had demonstrated and had the children learn Tuesday. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: A new improved archive search is coming! Look for it in mid-February! .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams