Tag: Kathak Dance School

Katha Dance Theatre Reopening Policies

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Image source: cdc.gov

On September 11, 2021, we will reopen our St. Louis Park studio for in-person classes and rehearsals. We also plan to resume in-person performances in the coming months, starting with the premiere of Shaamya – Of Equality at the Park Square Theatre this November. While these are exciting steps forward, our top priority is to ensure everyone’s ongoing health and safety during the pandemic.

With that in mind, we will continue to follow the guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Minnesota Department of Health, which we acknowledge could change at any moment as the pandemic evolves. We are excited to be using a hybrid classroom set-up, allowing us to make all of our classes available both in-person and virtually (apart from classes taught by Rita Mustaphi, which are all virtual). Below are further details surrounding our reopening process this Fall:

Studio

As stated on our studio safety and student code of conduct page, we are requiring anyone who enters the studio to wear a mask at all times, regardless of one's vaccination status. Masks have been proven to be effective in lowering transmission of COVID-19, and we feel this is the best way to protect our community against the threat of the Delta variant. In addition to masking, we ask all who enter the studio to try as best they can to maintain a six-foot distance away from those around them.
Following the example of many other dance studios and theaters around the country, we are requiring all in-person students over the age of 12 to provide proof of vaccination before the start of the Fall session. Students under the age of 12 who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated (but as stated above, must wear a mask in-studio) and students learning via Zoom are exempt from this.
If a teacher or student is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and tests positive for the virus, or if they have been exposed to anyone who has tested positive, we ask that they immediately inform Mukta Sathe (School Manager, muktas.kathadancetheatre@gmail.com) and refrain from entering the studio for two weeks after the positive test. If there is a chance that any other teachers or class members were exposed, the class will move online for two weeks before returning to the studio.
In order to ensure our studio's safety, we have added a state-of-the-art air purifying system to our HVAC. The iWave C Air Ionization System reduces the flow of particles in the air, helping to stop the spread of certain viruses and bacteria. Read more about it here.
KDT's teaching staff will thoroughly sanitize doorknobs and any other frequently touched surfaces before and after each class. There will also be a bottle of hand sanitizer in the studio that we will require everyone to use before and after each class.
Hybrid Learning Policy: All classes this session will follow a hybrid learning model, meaning that students will have the option of learning in person or on Zoom. Each student's preferred learning model must be shared upon registration, with the knowledge that changing CDC guidelines or a rise in cases could move all classes to Zoom at any time. We have upgraded our studio technology to include a television equipped with an HDMI plug-in that will broadcast Zoom learners into the classroom, visible and audible to all in-person participants.

Performances/Outreach

We will work with every presenter to follow individual venues' policies regarding mask-wearing and social distancing. However, we will insist that all audience members at our performances and outreach programs keep their distance from those outside of their group and wear a mask at all times within the venue.
Again, we will work to follow each venue's specific vaccination policy, but we will require all audience members at our performances and outreach programs to either show proof of prior vaccination (with the last dose having been administered at least two weeks beforehand) or proof of a negative COVID-19 test at least 48 hours before attending.

If you would like to sign up to be vaccinated against COVID-19, please do so here.

If you would like to schedule a COVID-19 test, please do so here.

Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions you may have regarding these policies or any of the measures we are taking to stop the spread of COVID-19.

A Note About Summer 2021

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Image source: cdc.gov

Dear KDT family,

We’ve come to the difficult decision to not resume in-person learning this Summer, meaning that classes will remain virtual through August.

I know this is disappointing to many of you who are growing weary of living your lives online. And I know that we had previously announced our intention to introduce limited in-person education starting this Summer. Due to recent developments, however, we believe this is the only way forward. Our reasons are as follows:

-COVID-19 case numbers: We’ve noticed with concern that case numbers in Minnesota are rising and in order to ensure the continued health and safety of our community, we feel congregating in-person would pose too great a risk––even with strict safety measures in place, as was our intention.

-Teacher vaccination status: As we’ve previously shared, we are committed to not beginning in-person classes until our entire teaching staff is vaccinated, and at this point, that will likely not happen until after Summer classes have begun.

-HVAC system: Again, because COVID-19 is airborne, we are committed to installing an upgraded HVAC system in our studio before in-person classes resume in order to ensure proper airflow. This will likely not occur until later than we had previously anticipated.

As I hope you’re all aware, we did not come to this decision lightly. We still hope to resume in-person classes this Fall (although virtual options will remain for our remote learners), but in order to ensure everyone’s continued health and safety as the pandemic persists, we feel we must keep Summer classes virtual. Let’s all continue to show each other patience and understanding and come together even stronger this Fall!

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions you may have. For example, if you’re interested in using the studio for individual practice time this Summer, we’d be happy to help you arrange that. As KDT students, you have the option of renting the studio for $20/hour.

Either way, thank you all for your continued loyalty and support during this difficult time. We will get through this!

All the best,

Rita Mustaphi
Founder & Artistic Director
Katha Dance Theatre

Announcing “MASK,” a New All-Virtual Project

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Rita Mustaphi

We are pleased to announce that KDT Artistic Director Rita Mustaphi has been awarded a Creative Support For Individuals grant by the Minnesota State Arts Board to fund an exciting new virtual project.

MASK is specifically designed for the internet age. Ms. Mustaphi describes it as “a dance of change – creating social awareness about the catastrophic physical & emotional tolls of 2020, and reimagining the situation as an opportunity for positive changes, attaining desires & achieving dreams.” The project is in keeping with KDT’s history of using dance and performance to convey emotional truths and address important socio-political issues.

According to the MSAB, “Creative Support for Individuals is designed to help Minnesota artists and culture bearers adapt to changes in their working environment caused by the global pandemic … This grant program aims to help Minnesota artists and culture bearers maintain their visibility and financial sustainability by using their creativity and connections to community.”

The social justice-focused project is set to debut as a streaming performance later in 2021. Read about the other grantees and their projects here.

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Rita Mustaphi is a fiscal year 2021 recipient of a Creative Support for Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Monthly Student Showcase

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Photo by Anurag Sharma

This 33rd anniversary year is made all the more unusual by the cancellation of Sadhana (a Sanskrit word translated as “methodical discipline to attain desired knowledge”), but we’re determined to celebrate our students’ achievements! With that in mind, we’re pleased to announce a virtual Student Showcase series, recurring online the fourth weekend of every month.

This monthly virtual event will not only highlight our students’ recent learning and artistic growth – it will also build their confidence, spark their creativity and allow them to celebrate each other. We hope you’ll watch with us as each weekend as it debuts and share your thoughts.

Our final showcase celebrated our apprentices and Company. Learn more.

Watch our showcase series:

December
January
February
March
April
May

KDT to Receive Art Works Grant

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Crystal, MN—National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Mary Anne Carter has approved more than $84 million in grants as part of the Arts Endowment’s second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2020. Included in this announcement is an Art Works award of $15,000 to Katha Dance Theatre (KDT) for a 2021-22 tour of their critically acclaimed dance work Kathak Yatra: The Journey of Kathak Dance. This is one of 1015 grants nationwide that the agency has approved in this category.

“These awards demonstrate the resilience of the arts in America, showcasing not only the creativity of their arts projects but the organizations’ agility in the face of a national health crisis,” said Mary Anne Carter, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “We celebrate organizations like Katha Dance Theatrefor providing opportunities for learning and engagement through the arts in these times.”

“We are grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts for its support of bringing our work, Kathak Yatra, to rural communities of Minnesota,” says KDT Artistic Director Rita Mustaphi. “This grant award is deeply meaningful to us since with this funding we will be able to not only offer performances but also enrich each community with the arts and culture of India. Much gratitude to the NEA!”

Kathak Yatra follows Kathak’s artistic and cultural evolution through time, beginning with its inception in Hindu temples, through its evolution as a form of entertainment for kings and emperors, and culminating in its contemporary multicultural incarnations. It explores Kathak’s duality as both classic and modern. Through this tour, KDT hopes to further its mission to make Kathak accessible and relevant throughout Minnesota.

For more information on this National Endowment for the Arts grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.