The Junoon Fellowship
THE JUNOON FELLOWSHIP
The Junoon Fellowship is a unique opportunity for students currently in secondary school to explore their artistic inclinations, passions and curiosities.
Centred on Classical Dance, the fellowship will have students discover the different Classical Arts – Performative, Fine and Literary – that are relevant to Dance and in doing so come to understand their own willingness and capacities for this variety of Art forms.
The idea is to communicate and convince that the Arts are as important a pursuit as any. That aspiring to a career in the Arts entails incredible commitment and limitless possibility, perspective and passion.
It prioritizes the athletic, dramatic and academic inclinations of the students as dancing is such a physical, expressive art form with its origins in ancient literature.
The Fellowship seeks to bring a passionate, willing and striving bunch of young artists together to hone their individual skills as well as converse, intellectualize and discover more about the art that resides within them and the art they would like to put out into the world.
This could culminate into a showcase. It could help them more firmly decide the course their careers could take if they so choose to be artists. And it could even simply help them aspire to professions or businesses that work closely with artists in order to inhabit a creative industry or environment going forward.
The Fellowship is about beginning a conversation and seeing where each student’s Artistic inclinations can take them, individually and as a collective. And to do away with any apprehensions, lethargy or second guessing to do with pursuing the Arts – to debunk any perceptions of it being frivolous.
The Junoon Fellowship is an exploration of every route our students can take with the Classical Arts and a discovery of every ounce of potential they have in that direction.
The Experience
The First ever Junoon Arts Fellowship was conducted at The B.D. Somani International School, India, for the period of 6 weeks through April and May 2023.
8 select secondary school students indulged in an exploration of mainly the Classical Arts, shepherded by Mythili Zatakia, the founder of Junoon and a proud alumni of BDSIS. The chosen 8 – all incredibly talented, creative, perceptive girls – worked diligently towards putting up an original production titled, “Throw Yourself Open” that combines Dance, Music and Theatre. They presented it at the climax of their Fellowship, thereby, earning their titles as the First ever Junoon Arts “Fellows”.
What has been achieved in six weeks is no mean feat. It is going to be thrilling to see how far they go, for their journey with the Classical Arts has only just begun…
The Junoon Arts Fellowship Season Three (The Production)
SEASON THREE
The Production:
After 6 weeks in pre-production and 8 weeks of intense rehearsals, during which the Fellows worked relentlessly to bring their story of the consequences of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to life through a production named “Futur Proche” or “The Near Future” that brought together live Music, Dance and Theatre, Season Three of The Junoon Arts Fellowship at BDSIS, India had its epic finale.
The Fellows put on the most magical and real display of Art, Tech and the synchronisation of both.
They delivered dialogue, music, dance and other forms of expression with strength, poise and potential and proved just how far they have come with their respective Artistic pursuits. The production was reflective of their creative and artistic development and contribution to the collective goal of putting on a spectacular show that incorporated and integrated multiple Arts, from the making of every line of the script to combining and displaying it with relevant Art.
Musical Theatre is not easy to execute. And the Fellows have done fantastically in bringing their labour of love to life from ideation to execution.
This was a performance to remember. And the Fellows – some of whom had joined us once again from Season Two – have not only showed up to the challenge but entirely knocked it out of the park.
A cohort of Art Leaders who pledged themselves to the cause of social impact through Art has emerged in these Fellows.
This is Junoon.
The Junoon Arts Fellowship Season Three
Is currently in progress.
We have completed pre-production which involved brainstorming and putting together the storyline, script, music, cast and movement and theatrical sequences.
We will rehearse and perform our production in the Fall of ’24.
The Junoon Arts Fellowship Season Two
This time round, the Junoon Fellows put up a production titled, “GRASSROOTS – A Quest for Truth”,
that combined Dance, Music, Theatre and Fine Art.
They performed for a different audience every day of performance week and were reviewed and critiqued by Arts professionals of different kinds in addition to being heavily appreciated by the school Leadership, Faculty, Administration and Student Body.
The Junoon Arts Fellowship Season One
Testimonials From The "FELLOWS"
“The Junoon Arts Fellowship for Dance, Theatre, and Music surpassed all my expectations. It provided me with a transformative experience that nurtured my artistic aspirations. The expert guidance and collaborative energy of the program propelled my talents to new heights. I am forever grateful for the enriching journey and the exploration of the vibrant artistic world it offered.”
VAIDEHI GUPTA (Grade II BDSIS (Class of 2024))
“The Junoon Fellowship is something that has given me the opportunity not only to regain my passion for Dance but also make me more confident as a person. It was a new experience for me and really showed me the different aspects of Art. The whole experience here provided us with a comprehensive understanding of various art forms. This fellowship also encouraged us to collaborate allowing us to learn and get inspired by each other. Not only did we learn a lot but our teacher, Ms. Mythili made it a fun journey for us all with many jokes and funny instances throughout all the sessions we had.”
Anusha Malpani (Grade II BDSIS (Class of 2024))
“The Junoon Fellowship was a great experience and gave me the opportunity to explore the Arts. It has helped me gain more confidence in myself as a person and a dancer. It has helped me understand the significance of teamwork and communication through the process of putting up our show. Working with Ms. Mythili was extremely fun. She encouraged each one of us throughout, pushing us to do our best.”
Ariana Malpani Grade II BDSIS (Class of 2024))
Thank you ms mythili for giving us this amazing opportunity i truly enjoyed this process and i’m looking forward to season 3❤️❤️💪💪
Thea Waghani
Thanks Miss Mythili Zatakia for this amazing opportunity. The fellowship was so much fun. I can’t wait for season 3 (sorry for forgetting the ball all practices util the last day)😂
Aman Agarwal
Thank you miss for everything. Through this production Iv learnt a lot of things that will help me in my future and I thank you for that 🙏 overall this was an amazing experience and a time to remember 😍
Chaitanya Kotwani (I’ve learnt)
Thank you so much Ms Mythili I genuinely had a really great time working with you and Being a part of a drama production has changed me by helping me discover new talents and pushing me out of my comfort zone, ultimately leading to personal growth and self-confidence.
Kaavya Ranka
Thank you so much Ms Mythili I genuinely had a really great time working with you and Being a part of a drama production has changed me by helping me discover new talents and pushing me out of my comfort zone, ultimately leading to personal growth and self-confidence.
Kaavya Ranka
Thank you miss for this amazing opportunity I had a great time working on the play
I cannot wait to start working on season three
Vihaan Dhavkare
Thank you, Ms. Mythilli, from the bottom of my heart, for your unwavering dedication and your endless love, and your belief in me. I am forever grateful for the legitimate opportunity of being your student.
Tanya Shah