In addition to performances, KDT’s tour programming includes community outreach options in the form of master classes, lectures/demonstrations, and workshops in dance or folk art. All programs may be personalized to suit participants’ needs. Our repertory is as follows:
Touring Repertory
Kathak Yatra follows Kathak’s evolution through time, beginning with its inception in Hindu temples and culminating in its contemporary multicultural incarnations. It explores Kathak’s duality as both classic and modern.
Based on the award-winning poetry of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Black Candle combines the elegant medium of Kathak dance with text and music to evoke female joy, love, pain and resilience. It pays tribute to the strength and tenacity shown by the women of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan in the face of oppression due to sexism, misogyny and repressive cultural norms. In telling their stories, which recount pivotal, life-altering moments, Black Candle emphasizes universal truths about love, loss and overcoming adversity.
Inspired by the poetry of writer and activist Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976) and using a mixture of Kathak and cross-cultural dance styles, music, and spoken word poetry, Of Equality advocates for racial, gender and cultural equity through art. Juxtaposing past and present fights for equality shows that although we still have much to accomplish, there is reason for hope. Featuring music by J.D. Steele and poetry by Ifrah Mansour.
We offer the option to book a full performance of one particular show, or a mixture of traditional and contemporary Kathak. For the latter, options include half Kathak Yatra and half Black Candle, or half Kathak Yatra and half Shaamya – Of Equality.
Email info@kathadance.org for more information on booking, or to request our full technical rider.