What relevance does kathak hold in our urban multicultural landscape?
Some aspects of the art are and always have been relevant and universal, such as dancing for joy and tapping into the divine energy, finding connection to spiritual awakenings and transformations for the dancer. Kathak holds relevance in the modern world simply because it is a unique expression of the individual mining the depths of a powerful tradition with universal truths. The kathak solo is an exploration of life through dialogue on stage and in the moment. This is where traditional becomes contemporary, in the now– And Classical becomes modern. There is no dichotomy, no boundaries. In 2006, I performed a shortened version of the Kathak solo) at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts during Kathak at the Crossroads Festival and Symposium along with many other of the world’s most eminent kathak artists. Diving into the tradition of upaj, improvisation, brought the immediacy and contemporary nature of kathak into full view for me in contrast to some artists who performed fixed or choreograp
