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You have dedicated over thirty years to studying and teaching an artform that is not from your culture. What drew you to kathak? What was your first experience like? Which aspects of the dance resonated with you the most and which were the most challenging?<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\nIn 1991, while studying music at the University of Toronto, Canada, I saw a kathak recital for the first time. The musical style was unfamiliar to me and the dance form was mesmerizing. Vigorous footwork with intricate rhythms, fast spins interspersed with sudden stops in beautiful body stances and punctuated by gentle movements of the neck, wrists and eyebrows. I had studied ballet as a child and this was so very different and I hoped to find a chance to try it. Later that year, senior disciple Joanna De Souza brought her Guru, Pandit Das, from California for a week-long dance intensive. I had no idea what to expect. I was about to hurriedly run into the dance studio for the class and I was arrested by a strong and resonant voice before I could cross the threshold, \u201cStop. Go to the restroom. Put water on your wrists and beneath your ears. Take a deep breath and bow in respect to the room before you enter.\u201d I was quite taken aback. What was all this about? As I felt the cool water on my wrists, I felt myself relax and my breathing slow down. I walked in a more controlled manner back to the studio and as I made my bow, I felt all the thoughts of the outside world disappear and felt ready for what was to come.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What a transformative experience. I had a Bachelor of Science degree and was working towards a master’s degree in music performance and I felt that everything I had learned up to this point was needed to understand kathak. Mathematics to wrap my mind around the complex rhythms, music to mimic the recitation syllables and the melodic phrases, ballet to give body awareness to approximate some of the movements and gestures, and psychology to understand motivation and emotion for storytelling. It was and still is at once daunting and thrilling.\u00a0<\/span> I have a naturally strong orientation to understanding the world through the aural and tactile senses. This has definitely been helpful since, in our lineage, recitation and singing are inextricably linked to the physicality of the dance.<\/span> However, on a conceptual level, there are significant differences. Generally, western classical music has a linear rhythmic base and is melodically polyphonic with multiple melodic lines interacting with each other, while Hindustani classical music is based on a rhythmic cycle and melodically homophonic with single melodic line which can be embellished in an improvisatory manner. Western classical music is carefully notated and the musicians strive to reproduce the exact pitches notated. Individual expression happens at the level of phrasing and interpretation of dynamic markings with beauty in conveying the composer\u2019s intent through the musician. Hindustani classical music is rarely notated as this would be contrary to the concept of leaving room for the musician to improvise, and beauty lies in the individual musician\u2019s unique ability to evoke feeling through a melodic framework, a <\/span>raag<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n In kathak, the music and the dance are inextricably linked yet for a traditional solo there may be little or no rehearsal between dancer and musicians prior to the live performance. It is the deep understanding of the <\/span>taal<\/span><\/i>, the rhythmic cycle, and how intricate rhythms are produced upon this cycle that make this possible and at its best, produce riveting and spontaneous exchange and co-creation between dancer and musicians.<\/span><\/p>\n One of the best places for a dancer to fully understand this is to be on the musician\u2019s platform as opposed to being on the stage dancing. Part of my training with Guruji included playing manjira, keeping time with the musicians, reciting compositions for the dancer and playing surmandal to add texture to the musical accompaniment. To be able to watch the interplay between Guruji and the musicians was a revelation. There was an excited alertness on the platform to be ready to catch and support a new composition that Guruji felt inspired to present or an improvisatory section of intricate footwork or unrehearsed embellishment in his storytelling.\u00a0<\/span> This period of time was one of great creative inspiration for Guruji. With the meteoric growth of Chhandam School, a strong cadre of dancers were being trained and developed for the company.\u00a0 It truly was an amazing experience to be a part of this history.<\/span><\/p>\n Highlights of CDDC productions include: <\/span>Panchajati<\/span><\/i> at the Cowell Theater, San Francisco and Birla Sabhagar, Kolkata, India (2002); <\/span>Kathak at the Crossroads<\/span><\/i> (included 40 kathak artists from around the world), Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco (2006); <\/span>Sampurnam<\/span><\/i> Cowell Theater (2007); <\/span>Shabd<\/span><\/i> Cowell Theater (2007), Chicago International Kathak Festival, Chicago (2009), Meany Hall, Seattle (2009), in India NCPA Tata Theatre, Mumbai, Shaniwarwada Dance Festival, Pune, the Bangalore Club, Bangalore (2010); <\/span>Sita Haran<\/span><\/i>, Cowell Theater (2009), Birla Sabghar, Kolkata, India (2010); <\/span>Darbar<\/span><\/i>, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (2012) and <\/span>SHIVA<\/span><\/i>, Z Space, San Francisco (2013).<\/span><\/p>\n SHIVA<\/span><\/i> was definitely one of the most intense experiences for me. During Guruji\u2019s childhood, ascetic sadhus would periodically come through Kolkata on their journeys. The choice of extreme lifestyle and mystery of these holy men made a deep and lasting impression on him. In his early 60\u2019s Guruji began to impress upon us that he would not be with us forever. He wanted us to understand and prepare for this time and, in his own way, he was also preparing himself. Inspired by the recitation of a set of tabla bols introduced to us by his brother, Ritesh Das, Guruji had us practice this recitation with immense concentration and force. It became a powerful and fervid chant that he joined with the personas and imagery of tantric sadhus worshipping the destructive force of Lord Shiva in the crematory grounds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Two stories were interwoven through this production. On the earthly level, the anger of a tantric guru with the weakness of his disciple. Then on the spiritual level, the all consuming rage of Lord Shiva who burns Madan, god of love, who had broken Shiva\u2019s deep meditation and withdrawal from the world due to the death of his wife Sati. His anger spent, Shiva relents and brings Madan back to life. But since his body has been burned completely, Madan is now An-anga, the bodiless one. The tantric guru realizes that if the great Lord Shiva can forgive, then who is he to hold such anger towards his own disciple and recognizes his own harsh lesson of forgiveness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This production thematically was difficult: guru\/disciple, uncontrolled anger\/forgiveness, death\/rebirth. For the dancers, it was some of the most intensely vigorous choreography as we were representing the extreme practices of tantric sadhus with the equivalents in rigorous footwork and myriad chakkars (spins) deep in the character portrayals of the sadhus. My role as the \u201cguru\u201d character is this production was one of the most raw emotionally yet simultaneously one of the most refined spiritually; one of the most strenuous physically yet simultaneously one of the most mentally meditative experiences.<\/span>
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As a professional harpist, you started your dance studies with a deep knowledge of western classical music. How did this prior training inform your dance? What aspects of Guruji\u2019s teaching style were different from your musical training and what aspects were similar?<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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<\/span>You were a member of the Chitresh Das Dance Company from 1998 to 2015. Can you describe this experience, particularly the transformation and growth during that time of the company in major large-scale productions on mainstream stages?\u00a0 Do you have any particularly memorable experiences to share from your time in the company?<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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