Kalakshetra Foundation

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On the Kalakshetra Foundation campus
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits the Kalakshetra Foundation (2011).

The Kalakshetra Foundation is an Indian culture academy for the preservation of traditional Indian art , especially music and dance .

The word Kalakshetra is made up of the Sanskrit words Kala for art and Kshetra for field, square or place, so it can be translated as “place of art”. The organization was founded by Rukmini Devi Arundale and George Arundale , two theosophists , on January 6, 1936 on the premises of the Theosophical Society Adyar (Adyar-TG) in Adyar . Initially the organization was called The International Academy of Arts , only later did the name Kalakshetra establish itself , from which the Kalakshetra Foundation (KF) emerged.

The main character and president of the KF was Rukmini Devi Arundale, who further developed the classical Indian dance Bharata Natyam , thereby reviving it and making it attractive to a broad public. In doing so, she revolutionized the Indian dance scene. Starting from an initial dance school, the whole thing grew into an art and cultural center of national interest. In 1962/63 KF moved to Thiruvanmiyur , a district of Chennai , where it is still located today.

Organizationally, the KF is divided into:

  • Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts - The actual art academy where u. a. Music, dance, painting and artistic skills are taught.
  • Besant Cultural Center Hostel - The boarding school for the pupils and students with housemothers and teaching staff.
  • Craft Education and Research Center - A spinning , weaving , dyeing , printing and sewing mill for the production of mostly artistically valuable items of clothing, such as saris . This is also where the costumes for the dance performances are tailored, often based on ancient models.
  • Besant Arundale Senior Secondary School - Established as a secondary school in June 1973 .
  • Besant Theosophical High School - A classic university to be able to acquire an academic degree in addition to studying art.

Although the KF was under the direct influence of the Adyar-TG for more than 25 years and the founder and president Rukmini Devi Arundale was a theosophist, theosophical topics no longer play a role today, although there is still a particularly close relationship with theosophy. This is clear from the naming of the individual schools, for example in honor of Annie Besant , a former president of the Adyar-TG. The teaching staff is based on the pedagogy of Maria Montessori , which from 1939 to 1949 u. a. also worked for KF. In the Kalakshetra Foundation Act 1993 , the Indian Parliament stated that the KF was an "institution of national importance". Today (2006) the KF is one of the best and most recognized institutions for Indian dance and music.

literature

  • Fredericks, Leo: Poet in Kalakshetra . Madras 1977
  • Kalakshetra Foundation (Ed.): Kalakshetra Brochure
  • Ramani, Shakuntala: Sari, the Kalakshetra tradition . Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai 2002
  • Sarada, S .: Kalakshetra-Rukmini Devi, reminiscences . Kala Mandir Trust, Madras 1985

Web links