Chitresh Das Dance Company
The Chitresh Das Dance Company is one of the world's leading Kathak dance companies, performing throughout the U.S., India and internationally. CDDC's annual home season premieres new works choreographed and composed by Pandit Das, often featuring guest artists from India. Pandit Das and CDDC have been recognized and honored extensively. In 2004, East as Center received a special award from the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards (the Izzies) for outstanding production, performance and choreography. East as Center toured nationally with EA and National Dance Project support. In addition, CDDC was nominated for Best Company Performance for Pancha Jati (premiered at Cowell Theater in 2002). In June 2004, the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival presented Pandit Das with the first ever Malonga Casquelourd Lifetime Achievement Award. For booking information, click here.


Arts Education Program
As Young Audiences of Northern California roster artists, CDDC dancers perform ten to twenty assemblies, give three to four workshops and conduct several teacher trainings annually throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, reaching 4,000-8,000 K-12 school children. CDDC's arts education program was selected for the Exemplary Arts Education Program, funded and administered by the California Arts Council, for the two years of the program's existence. In addition, CDDC dancers participate in artist residency programs and teach at after-school programs across the Bay Area. Joanna Meinl, a CDDC dancer, directs the Arts Education Program. For booking assemblies and workshops, please call 415-333-9000 or email mlyssa@kathak.org.  
Click here to view more detailed information of our assembly programs, including rates.

The Chhandam Youth Dance Company
The Chhandam Youth Dance 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. Students can audition to become members of 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. 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. Principal company member Charlotte Moraga is Youth Company Director.

The Chhandam School of Kathak
The Chhandam School of Kathak is committed to maintaining a grassroots, community-based organization, deeply rooted in and reflective of the Bay Area's South Asian community, and working constantly to reach a wider and more diverse audience. The Chhandam School is the largest Indian classical dance institutions in North America with five branches in the San Francisco Bay Area and additional affiliated schools in Boston and Kolkata, India.
Affiliated branches:
Chhandika (the Chhandam Institute of Kathak Dance) was founded in Boston in 1995 by former CDDC dancer Gretchen Hayden. It is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that, using Chhandam as a model, instructs over 75 students weekly, organizes public outreach programs, and
annually hosts Pandit Das for master classes in Boston.
Nritya Bharati, Chhandam's branch in Kolkata, India, was founded in 2002 by Pandit Das, who visits India twice annually for a period of two months each. His Kolkata-based students have already performed in major venues throughout the city and together with his students from the United States.

The India Exchange Program
The India Exchange Program currently involves in-depth dancer training, company tours, and the opportunity to assist Pandit Das in teaching throughout India. Our goal within the next two years is to expand the exchange program to incorporate members of CDYC. In addition, the Kathak Festival and Symposium will bring several students from Nritya Bharati to the United States for performance, training and interaction with U.S.based students and dancers.