Not many contestants at the State School Arts Festival have a fair knowledge of the art forms they perform. Few of them have the access to the best gurus, either. The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is hoping to make a change with a joint initiative with the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi.
Starting this year, workshops on the most popular events, like classical dances, music and theatre, will be conducted in all the 14 districts for students competing at the festival. To begin with, sessions will be held in Mohiniyattam, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Kerala Natanam this year.
“This is the first time ever that a workshop for the school festival’s contestants are being organised,” the Director of Public Instruction K.V. Mohan Kumar told The Hindu on Saturday. “From next year, we will have workshops on theatre and music. We believe that such workshops will make our students better dancers and have more knowledge about the art.”
He said the workshops would be conducted free of cost and is open to all students who wish to participate at the district or State festival.
“We are looking at the best gurus available at the moment, but we could also invite people from outside the State too. We will expand the scope of the workshops and will have an extended one during the next summer vacation. Our aim is to make our student more serious about the art forms they learn and to correct their mistakes,” he said.
Education Minister C. Ravindranath will inaugurate the workshop on July 1 at Thrissur.