Jaipur Gharana Kathak · New Jersey & online
Dance
with Bijal.
Kathak solo · red and gold, purple light
Classical Kathak for kids, teens and adults. In person in New Jersey, live on Zoom across the USA, the UK and India.
Before it was a dance
It was a story.
Kathak takes its name from katha, a story, and kathakar, the one who tells it. Long before it was a concert form it was how the epics travelled — recited, sung and acted out in temple courtyards across northern India.
16th–17th century
Temple, then court.
The kathakars were invited out of the courtyard and into the Mughal darbar. There the dance met Persian courtly form and changed — it took on the spin, the fine footwork, the turn of the wrist, and an audience that sat close and watched for precision.
18th–19th century
Three lineages.
Kathak settled into gharanas. Lucknow prizes abhinaya, the carrying of feeling. Banaras keeps its own grammar. Jaipur prizes layakari — the mathematics of rhythm, and footwork quick enough to hold an argument with the tabla.
Under empire
The long quiet.
Colonial rule pushed the dance out of public life and its practitioners lost their patrons. It did not stop. It went indoors, taught inside families and small circles, one generation handing it to the next until it could be shown again.
Today
Jaipur, in New Jersey.
The revival returned Kathak to the stage. Bijal Barot trained in the Jaipur gharana — the lineage of rhythm — and teaches it now from a studio in New Jersey and, over a screen, to students in three countries.
This is Bijal Barot.Jaipur gharana — the lineage that counts in rhythm.
2009.The National Balshree Award, New Delhi. The first Kathak dancer from Gujarat to receive it.
Forty-five minutes.The Vishnu Sahasranam, danced straight through without stopping.
First in Gujarat.In the Bruhad Gujarat Kathak Visharad examination.
And now she teaches.New Jersey, and any room with a screen in it. Students in three countries, every week.
Trial class · no cost · in person or on Zoom
Come dance
with Bijal.
Classical Kathak for kids, teens and adults. In person in New Jersey, live on Zoom across the USA, the UK and India. Beginners are welcome — most students start with none of this behind them.
Four ways to learn, one vocabulary.
Classical Kathak is the root. Semi-classical and wedding choreography grow out of it, so the taal, the footwork and the expression are the same in every room.
Kathak
Beginner to advanced, in the Jaipur Gharana. Optional graded exams and an annual showcase.
Semi-Classical
One song, eight weeks, one finished piece. Film and devotional numbers with Kathak grace.
Weddings
Sangeet sets, bride and groom solos, family groups. Rehearsals run online so everyone can join.
One‑on‑One
Private sessions for exams, auditions and solos, where correction happens in real time.
Every beginner starts here.
Kathak counts in cycles. Teentaal is sixteen beats, divided into four, and every phrase in class lands somewhere on it. Students recite the bols before the feet are ever allowed to move.
The marks in the left margin of this page follow the same four divisions.
- Taal
- Keeping time, reciting bols, understanding laya.
- Tatkaar
- Footwork: clean, then fast, then effortless.
- Chakkar
- Spins, with balance, spotting and control.
- Abhinaya
- Telling a story with the face and the hands.
New Jersey studio
Small batches grouped by age and level, on a proper floor, with a real stage at the end of the year.
Zoom, worldwide
The same syllabus and the same teacher. Students join from across the USA, the UK and India.
Seven days to catch up
Every online class is recorded and stays available for a week, so travel never puts a student behind.
This week's batchesSample
Times follow whichever city you pick, so nobody has to do the arithmetic.
| Batch | Level | Day | Time | Where | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kids · 5 to 9 | Beginner | Saturday | 10:00 | Studio, NJ | Trial |
| Juniors · 10 to 15 | Beginner | Saturday | 11:15 | Studio, NJ | Trial |
| Adults | Beginner | Sunday | 09:00 | Online | Trial |
| All ages | Intermediate | Wednesday | 19:30 | Online | Trial |
| All ages | Advanced | Saturday | 12:30 | Studio + online | Trial |
| Semi-Classical | Open | Friday | 19:00 | Online | Trial |
Final batch timings to be confirmed by Bijal before launch.
Bijal Barot
A Kathak Visharad trained under Smt. Namrata Shah in the Jaipur Gharana, and the first Kathak dancer from Gujarat to receive the National Balshree Award. She has danced at Mehrangarh Palace in Jodhpur, at the Kutch Rann Utsav before the Prime Minister, and at India Day in New York — and now teaches a community of students spread across three countries.
- Training · Jaipur Gharana, Kathak Visharad, CCRT scholar
- Honours · National Balshree Award, Nadiad Kala Ratna, Gold Medalist
- Television · Sony Entertainment, Boogie Woogie Kids Championship
Words from the batchSample
“Placeholder for a real quote from a parent — two lines on progress, patience, and what the child looks forward to each week.”
“Placeholder for an online student — the timezone convenience, the recordings, how personal it feels even on a screen.”
“Placeholder for a wedding client — the song, how fast the family learnt it, and the reaction on the night.”
Three to six short quotes with a first name and a town is enough. Video clips from the annual showcase work even better.
On stage, and in class.
Before your first class.
Do I need any experience to start?
How young can children start?
How do online classes work across time zones?
What do I need at home?
Are there exams and performances?
Can I book Bijal for a wedding or an event?
Begin where every dancer begins.
Tell us the student's age and whether you'd like to join in New Jersey or online. Bijal replies personally, usually within a day.
Learn the whole language.
Three Kathak levels, a semi-classical course, and private coaching — all taught by Bijal herself, in the New Jersey studio or live online.
Three levels, one syllabus.
Batches are grouped by age and level so nobody is rushed or held back. Moving up is decided with Bijal, not by the calendar.
Foundation
Kids 5+, teens and adults · 60 minutes · weekly
- Posture, hastak and the basic stances
- Teentaal bols and padhant, spoken aloud
- Tatkaar: clean footwork at slow and medium laya
- First chakkars, with spotting and balance
- A short thaat and a simple tukda by the end of term
Vocabulary
After one to two years · 75 minutes · weekly
- Toda, tukda, paran and tihai in teentaal
- Speed: dugun and chaugun tatkaar
- Multiple chakkars, jumps and travel across the stage
- An introduction to abhinaya and gat nikas
- Preparation for graded examinations
Repertoire
By invitation · 90 minutes · weekly
- A full solo margam, from thaat to tarana
- Layakari, jhaptaal and dhamar
- Gat bhaav and storytelling compositions
- Stage craft: costume, lighting, live padhant
- Solo and group performance opportunities
Optional throughout: graded Kathak examinations, and the annual showcase in New Jersey.
One song. Eight weeks. One finished piece.
A short course that takes a single film or devotional song and choreographs it with Kathak vocabulary — chakkars, expressive hands, clean footwork. You leave with a complete piece you can actually perform.
- Teens and adults, no prior training needed
- Live on Zoom, Friday evenings, with recordings for seven days
- Made for sangeets, college festivals, Navratri and reels
- A new song each cycle, so students can keep going
Correction, in real time.
For dancers preparing an exam, an audition or a solo, and for adults who want closer attention than a group allows. Sessions run 45 or 60 minutes, in the studio or online.
- Examination preparation, with mock padhant
- Solo choreography and performance polish
- Audition pieces for schools, colleges and television
- Flexible timings for professionals and students abroad
Simple monthly plansSample
The amounts below are placeholders showing the layout. Publishing real fees removes the single biggest reason people never write in.
- Four classes a month in New Jersey
- Ghungroo guidance and practice notes
- Annual showcase included
- Sibling discount
- Four live Zoom classes a month
- Recordings available for seven days
- Priced by region so it is fair everywhere
- A quarterly progress note from Bijal
- 45 or 60 minutes, studio or online
- Packages of four and eight
- Exam and audition preparation
- Flexible scheduling
Take a trial class first.
Bijal watches you for twenty minutes and places you in the batch where you will grow fastest.
Your sangeet, choreographed.
Bride and groom solos, couple pieces, the parents' entry and the cousins' group number — steps that look elegant on camera and are easy enough for everyone at the table.
Every number on the programme.
- The bride's solo — graceful, camera-ready, with a Kathak spin nobody else will have.
- The couple's piece — a first dance or a duet, taught to two very different skill levels.
- Family and friends — four to thirty dancers, in formations that read from the back of the room.
- The parents' entry — dignified, short, and rehearsed to the second.
- A semi-classical showpiece — a longer number for the bride or her closest friends.
Songs can be Bollywood, Gujarati garba and folk, devotional, or a mash-up cut to length. Bijal helps edit the music.
Five steps to the stage.
Enquire
Send the date, the city, how many dancers and roughly which songs.
Songs & format
Choose the music, decide who dances in what, agree the number of rehearsals.
Rehearse
In New Jersey, or on Zoom so relatives in Toronto, London or Ahmedabad learn the same steps.
Practice videos
Each rehearsal is filmed from the front, so the family can practise in between.
Final run
A full run-through with entries and formations, at the venue where possible.
Book eight to twelve weeks before the event. Travel outside New Jersey and venue rehearsals are quoted separately.
Priced by songs and dancersSample
A placeholder structure. Three clear tiers let families work out roughly where they sit before they ever pick up the phone.
- One song
- Three rehearsals
- Online or in person
- Three songs, up to twelve dancers
- Six rehearsals
- Practice videos after each session
- Five or more songs, up to thirty dancers
- Formations, entries and a venue run-through
- Music editing included
Tell us about the event.
Six answers are enough for Bijal to come back with availability, a suggested format and a price.
Reply usually within 24 hours. Dates in peak wedding season go quickly.
Kathak for your stage.
Solo recitals, group productions and classical–folk fusion, for festivals, weddings, cultural programmes and schools — in the USA, in India, or online.
- Solo Kathak recital, ten to forty-five minutes
- Group production with senior students
- Classical–folk fusion: garba, Rajasthani pieces
- Storytelling: Krishna-Leela, stotrams, Narmada Ashtakam
- Lecture-demonstration for schools and companies
- Festivals: Navratri, Diwali, India Day
- Weddings and sangeets
- Corporate and cultural programmes
- Temple and devotional events
- Schools, universities, literary festivals
- The date, city and venue
- Audience size and the length you want
- Theme: traditional, storytelling or fusion
- A stage of at least twelve feet square, wooden or marley
- Sound with a wireless mic for live padhant
Where this work has been seen.
- JodhpurMehrangarh Palace
An exclusive performance for the Royal Family's event, hosted for the Ambanis and international guests.
- KutchRann Utsav
Kathak in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- New YorkIndia Day, 2022–2025
Four consecutive years at the parade celebrations.
- ModheraUttarardh Festival, Sun Temple
Gujarat's classical dance festival, danced against the temple.
- HyderabadHyderabad Literary Festival
Organised by Telangana Tourism.
- AhmedabadInternational Kite Festival · Vibrant Navratri
Performed before the Chief Minister of Gujarat; Narmada Ashtakam at Vibrant Navratri.
- RaipurChhattisgarh Rajyotsav
In the presence of Governor Anandiben Patel.
- New JerseyMera India, Expo Center · Modi & US, 2024
Featured performer at both.
- TelevisionSony Entertainment Television
Featured performer, Boogie Woogie Kids Championship.
Send us the date.
Share the city, the kind of event and the length you have in mind. You will have availability and a suggested format within a day.
Bijal Barot.
Kathak artist, choreographer and educator from Gujarat, now teaching in New Jersey and online to students across three countries.
She was taught bols before feet, and she teaches the same way.
Bijal trained under Smt. Namrata Shah in the Jaipur Gharana, the school of Kathak known for rhythmic complexity and powerful footwork. She holds the Kathak Visharad, ranking first in Gujarat in the Bruhad Gujarat examination, and studied further on a CCRT scholarship from the Government of India. She is also an MCA graduate.
In 2009 she became the first Kathak dancer from Gujarat to receive the National Balshree Award, presented in New Delhi. Gujarat honoured her with the Nadiad Kala Ratna, conferred by then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, and she has since performed before him at the Kutch Rann Utsav.
Alongside classical work she is an accomplished folk dancer. Her stages run from the Sun Temple at Modhera and Mehrangarh Palace in Jodhpur to India Day in New York and Sony Television. A forty-five minute uninterrupted rendering of the Vishnu Sahasranam remains one of her signature pieces.
Since moving to the United States she has built Bijalsangnaach into a school with in-person batches in New Jersey and live online classes, teaching children, teens and adults with the discipline she was taught herself.
Awards, in order.
- 2006Nadiad Gaurav Award
Kheda Jilla Sahitya Sangh.
- 2009National Balshree Award, New Delhi
Presented in the presence of HRD Minister Dr. D. Purandeswari. The first recipient in Kathak from Gujarat.
- 2010Mai Kala Ratna, and civic felicitations
Conferred by Amba Ashram, Nadiad. Felicitated by Nadiad Municipality during Swarnim Gujarat Mahotsav, by the Lioness Club and JCI Nadiad, and by Petroleum Minister Shri Dinsha Patel.
- 2011Nadiad Kala Ratna
Conferred by then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
- 2011Gujarat State Youth Festival · Gujarat University
First place in both.
- 2017Inter-University West Zonal Youth Festival
Winner.
- OngoingKathak Gold Medalist · CCRT Scholar
First in Gujarat in the Bruhad Gujarat Kathak Visharad examination; Government of India scholarship for advanced training.
- PressSandesh · Gujarat Samachar · Hyderabad News · Gujarat Times, USA
Featured coverage.
Signature productions.
- Vishnu Sahasranam · forty-five minutes, uninterrupted — a rare feat of stamina and memory.
- Krishna-Leela · lead dancer in productions across Gujarat, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
- Nritya-Natikas · Samudra Manthan, Saraswati Stotram, and an Ayurveda-themed dance drama.
New batches are open.
Kids, teens and adults, in New Jersey and online. Beginners are always welcome.
Eighteen frames.
Curated from the academy's archive — stage, studio and podium. Every photograph is captioned.
Photographs carrying another studio's watermark, and the screen-recordings that show children's faces, have been left out of this draft. Before launch we recommend a half-day shoot and one clean set of stage images.
Book a trial class.
A handful of answers, and Bijal gets in touch personally — usually within a day. Prefer to talk? WhatsApp is open every day.
New Jersey, USA. The exact address is shared when a trial is booked. Online classes run on Zoom, worldwide.
Choose it under “Interested in” and add the date and city, or use the fuller enquiry form on the Weddings page.