Highland dancing and the music hunt...

Hello! Since my last post I have been dancing lots, and also starting to think about the final performance, which has consisted mostly of a massive search for appropriate music. Due to an early-summer camera malfunction, I haven't had a chance to take pictures for a while, but I will post some soon, and describe things in the meantime.

First, the dancing. While I have been taking Kathak class on Sundays and practicing with Vanisha during the week, I have also been going to Scottish Highland dance class twice a week at the San Jose School of Highland Dance. I danced Highland competitively throughout middle and high school and a little in college, but hadn't been to class in about a year, let alone competition. It was a little frustrating at times getting back into it, as my stamina, especially, was way below what it used to be and I'm getting corrections on things I had fixed years ago, but after many evenings of sore legs (and lots of bananas!) I feel like I'm starting to get back into the groove, which is a great feeling. In general, I am THRILLED to be dancing again, the teachers are wonderful, and I am hoping to keep doing Highland at least intermittently through the school year, to the point where I might be competition-ready in the spring or summer. 

And now, the great music hunt! Since my final dance will be fusing Highland and Kathak, I am hoping to use a piece of music that at least gives a nod to both cultures. As you can probably imagine, this search has been interesting! After perusing youtube videos of pipe bands in India and dholis jamming with bagpipers, I contacted a band called Delhi2Dublin, to see if I might be able to get a copy of their track "Dil Nachde" without lyrics, and they emailed back, which is promising. This band's name pretty much describes their music, and this track consists of an upbeat celtic fiddle tune with a dhol drum beat behind it. It's not strictly Scottish or at all what Kathak dancers actually dance to, but I think it may work for what I am trying to communicate with the dance. My other contender is a piece called "The Spark" by Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser and his band Skyedance, with which I would blend Kathak beats. 

Molly