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About the Festival
 Kathak
at the Crossroads will be one of
THE LARGEST
Indian classical performing arts events in U.S. history, featuring over fifty artists
from India and around the world.
DO NOT MISS this historic event!!
Held over three days, the International Kathak Festival and Symposium will
include daytime performances, lecture demonstrations, panel discussions
and three evenings of performances by Kathak's leading masters and
emerging stars.
Click to View Festival Brochure for details about artists, lecturers, and panelists. (PDF)
The daytime performers include some of Kathak's leading gurus. Lectures and panel discussions will be lead by the foremost Kathak masters and twelve scholars from the U.S., India, and Europe . A highlight will be a performance and discussion that offers insight into Kathak's courtesan tradition with one of the last living courtesans, Madhuri Devi Singh.
Evening performances will feature Kathak's rising stars and some of its greatest masters. Discussions with the artists will follow the performances. Thursday evening will feature Krishna Mohan Mishra, the son of one of Kathak's greatest stalwarts, Pandit Shambhu Maharaj; Friday evening will feature the doyen of Kathak, Pandit Birju Maharaj; Saturday evening will feature the phenomenal Kathak and Tap collaboration, India Jazz Suites, with Pandit Chitresh Das and Jason Samuels Smith.
   
Letter from Pandit Chitresh Das
Dear Friends, Gurus, and Kathak Practioners,
In 2004, Dr. Birendra Sinha presented the first international Kathak Festival in the U.S. at the University of Chicago. With his support and the support of many others, I am humbled and honored to be able to present this Festival & Symposium in San Francisco.
I grew up in the 1950’s & 60’s in Kolkata, India, learning under my Guruji, Pandit Ram Narayan Mishra. I was trained in the old-school, traditional style of the guru-shishya parampara (a life-long, one on-one study with one Guru). I was trained in the traditional Kathak solo, in which a Kathak dancer was required to go on stage without any prior rehearsal and perform improvised rhythms, compositions and gat bhao (storytelling) for two to three hours. It was a feat of body, mind and spirit for an artist to be able to captivate the audience as soloist. Now, fast forward to the current day, and as I perform and teach in India and the U.S., I have begun to see this tradition gradually being replaced by Western-influenced choreography and high production-value performances. Fusion has lead to confusion, or has it? It is a tragedy to lose this great tradition, or is it? The gurushishya parampara was the only way to learn for me, but should Kathak adopt the Western learning process of institutions and workshops with many gurus? As the nature of Kathak dance is a solo art form, if one does not do choreography, is he or she restricting him or herself from the evolution of Kathak in modern-day society? My goal with Kathak at the Crossroads is to bring together a diversity of generations, gharanas, styles and genders, and to demonstrate that perhaps there is room for all. Many questions will be addressed: how does one define when a dancer is ready to experiment? When does it stop being Kathak and become something else and who sets that standard? In the midst of all these difficult questions, we must also celebrate this great art form with the great masters, the upcoming and emerging artists and the young students. Ultimately, Kathak at the Crossroads is dedicated to the future generations of Kathak dancers. It is hoped that, by bringing the Kathak and larger performing arts communities together on an international level, a greater awareness of Kathak will be achieved. I hope that with a successful Festival & Symposium, we can host many more in the future, in the U.S., India and elsewhere. Please join us for what we hope to be a wonderful celebration and an historic event for Kathak and the performing arts field at large.
Chitresh Das
Letter from Director
Dear Friends of Dance,
Kathak at the Crossroads: Innovation within Tradition represents a singular opportunity to engage, educate, and entertain the public about a treasured classical Indian dance form, and its evolution from wandering storytellers in North India 2000 years ago to its place in the 21st century. As Festival Director, it is my great privilege to be a part of this extraordinary gathering of artists and scholars from around the world. In my work as General Manager at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts, I was fortunate to help create and participate in the global community of dancers that made up Jacob’s Pillow. Now, I am thrilled to help to make this festival come to life as well. I hope you will join me and many colleagues: presenters, artists, students, scholars, and lovers of Kathak, as we discuss the past, present and future of this amazing dance form.
Charlotte M. Tiencken
President, Scarlet Productions
Director, Kathak at the Crossroads
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