shivani joshi
Shivani Joshi is a Portland-based performing artist, acclaimed for her expertise in Indian classical dance and music. Trained from a young age under her mother, Dr. Nisha Joshi, she earned her diploma in Hindustani vocal music and completed her Bharatanatyam Arangetram with Ms. Sivagami Vanka. She was awarded the prestigious ICCR scholarship by the Government of India to pursue advanced Kathak training at the National Institute of Kathak Dance in New Delhi under Pandit Rajendra Kumar Gangani.
Shivani holds dual master’s degrees in Kathak classical dance and Hindustani vocal music from Guru Nanak Dev University, Punjab. Her Kathak training was further enriched under Vidushi Urmila Nagar, Dr. Santosh Vyas, and Dr. Ranjna Chhabra, while her vocal studies continued under Ms. Kamal Rani and Mr. Sukhdev Sagar. She specializes in khayal, bhajan, ghazal, and Rajasthani folk, and is also skilled in harmonium accompaniment.
Her performances span both the U.S. and India, including appearances at Kathak Mahotsav (Delhi), Maharana Kumbh Sangeet Samaroh (Udaipur), and on national broadcasts such as Doordarshan. With a deep commitment to preserving and sharing classical arts, Shivani continues to captivate audiences through her expressive storytelling and musical artistry.
abstract
Khayal in Motion: Exploring Khayal Bandishes as Narrative Vehicles in Present-Day Kathak
Research Talk
This paper encourages the increasing use of khayal, a genre of Hindustani vocal music, in contemporary kathak. Dancers are drawn to its improvisational scope and lyrical abstraction, exploring a raga’s emotional essence (rasa) through movement and encouraging technical compositions set to various rhythm cycles (tala). The extensive repertoire of khayal compositions allows performers to maintain a classical aesthetic, steering clear of unauthentic mainstream music sources like Bollywood. This integration also creates a unified experience for the audience, seamlessly connecting those with a background in Hindustani vocal music to those primarily acquainted with the narrative aspects of dance.