The Chhandam Youth Company was established in 2002 to provide young dancers with access to professional training and performance opportunities in Kathak dance under the direct tutelage of Pandit Chitresh Das. Individual students are recommended by their teachers to audition for the Youth Company after a minimum of two years of study at the Chhandam School.

Youth Company members undergo a rigorous training program in dance technique, the intricate rhythmic system of North Indian classical dance and music, as well as the dance theory, history, philosophy and etiquette associated with the Kathak tradition and Indian culture. A scholarship program is available to provide tuition assistance to lower income Youth Company students/families. The Youth Company performs annually in the Youth Dance Festival at ODC Theater in San Francisco and appeared for the first time in the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival in June 2004. Since then they have performed on world-class stages such as the Davies Symphony Hall, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the Palace of Fine Arts to name a few. Principal Chitresh Das Dance Company member, Seibi Lee, is the Youth Company Director.

Current Youth Company Members:

Senior Youth Company:
Sonali Toppur
Ritika Pai
Aahana Sahai
Jasmine Balsara
Sneha Patkar
Simran Arora
Leela Amladi
Neha Bhansali
Mayuka Sarrukai
Anushka Shah
Aditi Maheshwari
Shruti Pai
Vanita Mundhra
Anushka Das
Nikita Hazari
Sarina Chitre
Ishita Dubey

This project has been made possible in part by a grant from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, in partnership with the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, and the Surdna Foundation.