We are delighted to announce that Pandit Birju Maharaj will now lead the Kathak faculty at Dance India after four years.
His presence at the school offers a rare and valuable opportunity to learn with one of the leading Kathak artistes of the 20th century. In order to take full advantage of his vast knowledge and experience, sessions have been planned in a way that all Kathak students will have the opportunity to learn with Maharaji throughout the week, in addition to sessions with all students at Dance India.
In view of Maharaj ji’s and Aditi Mangaldas’s presence at the school, Prashant Shah will no longer be with us in 2014. Prashant Shah is a much-loved tutor and performer, and we look forward to inviting him back to join the faculty in the coming years.
Pandit Birju Maharaj is the leading exponent of the Lucknow Kalka-Bindadin gharana of Kathak dance in India, and is a descendant of the legendary Maharaj family of Kathak dancers. He is an creative innovator, a highly talented choreographer, and dedicated teacher with hundreds of students around the globe. As an accomplished vocalist, poet and percussionist, he has unique insight into the interconnectivity of music and dance, giving him greater depth of understanding of his art form, Kathak.
Maharaj Ji began teaching Kathak at the young age of thirteen, at the Sangeet Bharti in New Delhi. He then taught at the Bharatiya Kala Kendra in Delhi, and at the Kathak Kendra (a unit of the Sangeet Natak Akademi) where he was Head of Faculty, and later Director, After retiring in 1998, he opened his own dance school, Kalashram, also in Delhi. As a musician and choreographer, he composed and sang two dance sequences in Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj ke Khilari, and choreographed the song Kaahe Chhed Mohe from the 2002 film adaptation of the novella Devdas.
Find out more about Dance India, the faculty and how to register as a participant.