explore. research. innovate.
MISSION STATEMENT
Aramandi To Attitude started out as a community of movement arts enthusiasts who wanted to explore the creative potential of the human mind and body. We now strive to promote a paradigm where one learns to look beyond their genres of training and push the boundaries of their creative instinct. We aim to continue building this community into a safe space where people can find the support to nurture their individualistic expressions without restricting their art/practice to conventionally labeled, compartmentalized genres.
ATA believes in producing socially relevant creative work that fosters conversations about and voices the unheard or otherwise understated aspects of life which nevertheless have significant societal consequences. We focus on research to assess and reform pedagogical approaches with an aim to contribute towards a more equitable and empathetic society.
OUR INCEPTION
Aramandi To Attitude started out as a group of people who found exhilaration and bliss in training their minds and bodies to visualize ways in which one can move and eventually execute those movements using the space around them.
“Aramandi” is a typical posture of one of the classical dances of India, Bharatanatyam. “Attitude” is a posture used extensively in the western classical dance form of Ballet. This community was founded during our journey of going from Aramandi to Attitude, and exploring a spectrum of movement styles along the way; we started building a pedagogy around a unique paradigm, where we learn to adopt any movement style we come across.
FOUNDING MEMBERS
Aman Prasad
"Currently a research scholar in France, I was born in India. I have had no formal training in movement except for some martial arts as a kid. I guess my journey in movement began with my instinct to climb trees, roofs, lamp posts, and trying to explore the environment around me with a different perspective. I think I never outgrew the phase of exploration I had as a kid. Later, I started training Parkour at the age of 20; it was a way to start exploring my surroundings in yet another way. Parkour led to tricking, dancing, improvising... and there I went down the rabbit hole of exploring different movement styles. I try to explore the physical and emotional limitations of my movements and try to push the boundaries to create something new. I look at all styles of movement with an agnostic lens and try to learn from each of them - to break it and create something of my own. One of my aims is to spread the joy of movement to everyone and help them explore their individual expressions. "
Pritha Kundu
I identify as an explorer, researcher, and innovator in visual and performing arts and wish to integrate my training in movement arts, scientific research, photography, and filmmaking to pursue research aimed at developing platforms for preserving and enriching the diverse intangible cultural heritage of the global movement landscape and increase its visibility for encouraging the engagement of future practitioners.
I have been practicing Bharatanatyam and Yoga for the past 19 years. I started learning more contemporary movement forms in 2003 beginning with my training in Uday Shankar Technique. I thrive on exploring any movement style that I come across and adapting it in my practice. Apart from my core training, I foray into practices of Kung-fu, Kalaripayattu, Kathak, Jazz, and Butoh. I also practice developing improvisational movement pieces that explore self-expression through dance that is not restricted to a particular style but constantly evolves and takes new creative forms. As part of my personal movement research, I am building a pedagogy focused to develop a structured and systematic technique that allows a person to create their own movement styles irrespective of their age, background, and prior training.