As part of the Peek A Book – Festival of Children’s Literature, held on Saturday, 11th October 2025 at Finland International School, Mumbai, Junoon conducted a special workshop led by Founder-Director Mythili Zatakia. Introducing children to the expressive world of Bharatanatyam, the session explored how movement, rhythm, and emotion can transform words into living stories. Rooted in Junoon’s philosophy of connecting classical art with imagination and learning, the workshop invited young participants to discover Dance not just as performance, but as a language of storytelling and expression.
Workshop Summary
Our workshop at the Peek-A-Book – Festival of Children’s Literature, held on Saturday, 11th October 2025 at Finland International School, Mahalakshmi, Mumbai, offered children a joyful introduction to Bharatanatyam — not just as a Dance form, but as a language of storytelling, rhythm, and emotion. Led by Junoon’s Founder-Director, Mythili Zatakia, the hour-long session unfolded as an immersive exploration of how classical movement can give shape to thought and feeling.
Through four interactive segments, participants were guided step by step into the world of Bharatanatyam. The session began with Mythili demonstrating how mudras (hand gestures) and abhinaya (facial expressions) work together to form a vocabulary of meaning, where every gesture carries an intention and every expression tells a story. Children were then invited to experiment with simple mudras, using them to translate words and images from short poems into movement.
As the session deepened, the focus shifted to rhythm and emotion, exploring how taalam (beat) and nritta (pure rhythmic movement) give structure and musicality to the Dancer’s body. The final segment brought everyone together in a collaborative reflection, where children created and shared short improvised sequences inspired by their own words and feelings.
The workshop beautifully revealed how Bharatanatyam and literature share a common ground; both are languages of storytelling, one written in ink and the other expressed through the body. It was a session filled with laughter, curiosity, and discovery, leaving the young participants with a sense that Dance, too, is a way of thinking, feeling, and creating meaning.
Warm Regards,
Nikita Rathod
Curriculum Development
The Junoon Foundation
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