| Folk Arts - Master Artist - Srivani Jade"The artistic tradition of Thumri is a beautiful one—one that deserves more engaged performers and audiences, and students within the community who can help popularize and sustain it." Srivani Jade.
Srivani Jade is a vocalist and musician from Kirkland, Washington, who focuses on Thumri, a genre of North Indian "Light Classical" music. Thumri dates back to the early 19th century and, by tradition, is performed with movement. Jade first learned the Thumri tradition from her paternal uncle during her childhood in India. Since then, Jade has continued to study this art form by attending workshops lead by visiting artists and by examining archival material. Through these efforts, she has more than doubled her Thumri repertoire over the last ten years. She has received recognition from local media and organizations and has been awarded a residency with the Jack Straw Artist Support Program during which time she will record her own compositions of traditional Indian music.
Jade was awarded a Folk Arts Apprenticeship grant from the WSAC in 2008. This grant allowed her to work with an apprentice, Archana Kumar, a Kathak (Indian classical dance) teacher and performer. Traditionally, Thumri is performed with Kathak dance, but this connection has faded over time and there are few performers who practice both forms, music and dance. In a step to restore that link, Jade will teach Kumar her Thumri repertoire. Kumar, who choreographs original dance pieces, hopes to incorporate Thumri vocals in her future performances.
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