Little glimpse of my Kathak dance Journey

My Kala Guru Shree Late Dharamshi Shah and Shree Jigar Bhatt.

Learning Kathak for seven years is like walking through a beautiful rainbow, one color at a time. Each color of the rainbow — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet — can be seen as a symbol for each year of growth in this classical dance journey. In the first year, the dancer is like the color red. Red stands for energy and passion. At this stage, the dancer begins to learn the basic steps, footwork (tatkaar), hand movements (hastaks), and simple expressions. Everything is new and exciting. Just like red is bright and bold, the dancer's spirit is full of enthusiasm and curiosity.


The second year is orange, the color of creativity and joy. Now the dancer starts feeling the rhythm more deeply and can enjoy the music with movement. She begins to learn simple tukras and small tihais. Orange shows that the dancer’s body and mind are becoming one with the dance. She learns how to balance expressions and movements with grace.




The third year is yellow, a symbol of brightness, clarity, and learning. The dancer now understands more about taals (rhythmic cycles), begins to perform in front of small audiences, and learns the importance of discipline and daily practice. Yellow is like sunlight — it lights up the dancer’s mind and brings confidence. The learner starts feeling proud of her small achievements.


The fourth year is green, the color of growth and harmony. The dancer is now learning more complex compositions, such as gats, paran, and longer pieces of abhinaya (expression). She also starts understanding the spiritual side of Kathak. Like the green of nature, this year is about balance, patience, and steady growth. The dancer feels more connected to her guru and begins to explore the emotions behind each movement.


The fifth year is blue, the colour of depth and calm. The dancer now performs with more control, maturity, and emotion. She learns to maintain a deep connection with the music and to express stories through facial expressions and graceful movements. Just as the ocean is vast and deep, her understanding of Kathak becomes richer. She starts developing her own style and learns to correct her mistakes more easily.


The sixth year is indigo, a colour that represents wisdom and intuition. At this point, the dancer is preparing for her Visharad exams. She must remember many technical details, understand the history and theory of Kathak, and perform with confidence. Indigo shows that the dancer now not only dances with her body, but also with her heart and soul. She trusts herself and starts guiding younger students too, like a big sister.


The seventh and final year is violet — the colour of beauty, mastery, and imagination. Now, the dancer has completed her Visharad and has become an artist in her own right. Violet stands for artistic maturity. She can perform complex pieces with ease, express deep emotions, and create magic on stage. Like the last colour of the rainbow, it is the perfect mix of all the other colours. It shows that the dancer’s journey is now whole, full of learning, grace, and joy.


In this way, each year of Kathak training adds a new colour to the dancer’s life, just like each colour adds beauty to a rainbow. From the bold energy of red to the deep beauty of violet, the dancer transforms slowly, step by step. After seven years, just like the rainbow ends in the sky, the dancer shines with the light of her own talent, dedication, and hard work. The Visharad stage is not an end, but the beginning of a lifelong dance journey full of colour, rhythm, and soul.

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