The Kathak Podcast : Kathak Ka Chakkar Pramit Baul

Episode Notes
Gauri Sharma Tripathi (@gaurisharmatripathi) on Instagram

Gauri Sharma Tripathi has trained in the classical tradition of Kathak, under the guidance of her
Guru and mother, Padma Sharma.

She is the Artistic Director of her companies Amara Nritya Kala Hansa & ANKH Dance UK. The
repertory of ANKH continues to bridge the teaching and choreographic journeys between the
traditions and the new. A Nritya Visharad and a Singar Mani Awardee, Gauri wrote the three-year
degree course on Kathak for London Contemporary Dance School, she was also part of the ISTD
South Asian dance founding team, faculty, and examiner. She has curated The Alchemy Festival at the Southbank Centre for nine years and is associated with The Women of the World festival. Her
curatorial work includes The Indian Dance Festival at the Korzo Theatre in The Hague, Netherlands.

Through her varied work, she has brought a strong South Asian presence to the UK arts scene.

(0:01:27) Bio and Background

(0:02:28) Start of Conversation

(0:03:35) Starting from Screatch

(0:05:55) Documenting Choreographies

(0:08:13) How memories shape dance

(0:10:38) Referring back to previous choreographies

(0:13:28) How dance is intoxicating

(0:15:54) Being trained as a soloist

(0:20:27) Teaching students to be part of group choreographies

(0:24:00) how do you teach differently than how you were taught

(0:31:15) Enabling students to explore and grow

(0:34:10) The spine of kathak

(0:35:57) Residency at the Southbank Center

(0:38:31) The Alchemy Festival

(0:40:39) Creating an environment of collaboration

(0:44:22) The versatility of Kathak

(0:46:43) What does support mean for artists

(0:50:13) Documenting her mother's work (Padma Sharma ji )

(0:56:00) Transition from UK to India

Find out more at https://the-kathak-podcast.pinecast.co

Episode Notes
Niraj Chag is a London-based musical artist and composer. His musical style mixes Indian classical influences with contemporary stylings and layered, complex beats

The Kathak EP | Niraj Chag (bandcamp.com)
Niraj Chag | Composer And Musician

Show Highlights

(0:03:07) Kanya: The begining of Kathak Compositions for Niraj

(0:05:21) How does the collaboration happen between a composer and an artist: Kanya

(0:06:27) The interplay of bols and music

(0:07:01) How watching Kathak influences Niraj's music

(0:08:28) How colors influence music

(0:11:21) How colors are related to mood

(0:12:15) Inputs needed to start working on music

(0:14:41) Playing instruments vs Hiring session musicians

(0:18:07) On the topic of artists using his work

(0:22:00) Making The Kathak EP

(0:25:24) Learning from other artists

(0:27:03) Handling conflicts during collaboration

(0:29:46) Learning by not always getting what you want

(0:32:00) Bridging communication gaps as a producer

(0:35:01) Getting into a workflow

(0:36:10) Kathak Subsonic

(0:39:35) The unpredictability of which songs get popular

(0:42:34) Artistic freedom to make choices

(0:45:25) Using AI Tools

(0:46:35) Use of technology of music vs dance

(0:51:21) Teaching and mentoring

(0:57:01) How much Kathak should a composer need to watch before starting to make music for it?

Find out more at https://the-kathak-podcast.pinecast.co

New York Kathak Festival
New York Kathak Festival

The New York Kathak Festival is a nonprofit organization that presents and promotes dancers, scholars, and practitioners of Kathak, a classical dance tracing its origins to India. We produce a festival bringing together established and emerging artists from across the United States and beyond. The Kathak Festival is produced by the American Kathak community, inspiring creative exchange between local Kathak artists and diverse New York audiences.
The festival is run by a volunteer team of young professionals who live and work in the New York metropolitan area.
The Kathak Festival is our passion above and beyond our professional careers in industries ranging from fashion, technology, finance, fitness, education, journalism, design, and medicine—and we take it as our responsibility to set a strong foundation for this rich classical tradition to thrive in NYC.

Show Highlights

(0:00:00) Podcast Intro

(0:03:13) What is The New York Kathak Festival?

(0:04:44) Kathak Background and connection of the NYKF team

(0:09:50) Evolution of the festival from 2019-2023

(0:11:49) How does being in New York help the Kathak Festival

(0:15:37) About the NYKF Team

(0:17:40) The importance of having a clear ask : Fundraising

(0:18:35) Donating to NYKF

(0:20:11) Having a fair and unbiased artist selection process

(0:24:12) Being immersed in Kathak for a weekend

(0:26:18) Dedicating time to Kathak

(0:27:27) Logistics and festival details

(0:29:54) Pop Up Concerts

(0:34:03) Curating Festivals with the audience in mind

(0:36:17) On the topic of educating audiences

(0:38:23) The beauty in being able to enjoy an art form without context

(0:40:05) Future plans

(0:41:52) The importance of artists to the festival

Find out more at https://the-kathak-podcast.pinecast.co

Episode Notes
Website
Khalil Alashar (@kalashar91) • Instagram photos and videos

A dancer par excellence budding from the little island in the Persian Gulf called Bahrain, Khalil Alashar has been able to grasp the authenticity and professionalism in Kathak in a very short span. 
His talent and dedication made him excel in his passion allocating him performances and workshops internationally.

(0:02:10) Assumptions made by others

(0:06:51) Learning

(0:18:16) Making your own stage props

(0:20:59) Masters in Kathak

(0:36:53) Inviting other artists for workshops/performances

(0:45:03) Bahraini Audiences

(0:49:01) Incorporating stories from Bahrain in Kathak

(0:51:27) Being the torchbearer of Kathak in Bahrain

(0:56:39) What is your WHY

Find out more at https://the-kathak-podcast.pinecast.co

https://www.instagram.com/theyouthkathakfestival/

Bio

Sreeja Chakraborty is an Artist from Mumbai. She has done her undergraduation from Christ University, Bangalore in BA Triple Majors in Performing Arts, English and Psychology. She specialises in Contemporary and Kathak. She has taken kathak training from her mother, Guru Madhumita Chakraborty, and is currently the performance curator at Banichhanda Dance Academy Mumbai. Sreeja is also a mental health Facilitator, associated with Project Mumbai and BMC and works on mental health programs with underprivileged children in over 20 schools of Mumbai. Sreeja has been the winner of Mumbai’s got talent and various other dance events. She is the founder and director of The Youth Kathak Festival, 2023 which is going to launch in January which is India’s first one-of-a-kind Youth led classical dance event happening in Bandra on 28 and 29th of January.

Gaurvi Jain originated from the city of lakes Udaipur who set her course in the field of performing arts having learned various artforms like Hindustani classical music, kathak, Bharatnatyam, sitar, Hawaiian guitar etc. having done her BA in Performing arts, english and psychology from Christ University Bangalore, she recently finished a course in Creative Fashion styling from NIFT Mumbai. she is the first member to join The youth kathak festival as an executive producer.

Show Highlights

(0:02:11) An Introduction to The Youth Kathak Festival

(0:04:00) What's different about it

(0:08:03) Sreeja and Gaurvi's favorite festivals and themes

(0:12:20) Will audiences dance with the performer in a Kathak Festival?

(0:14:34) What kind of artists are you looking to bring on?

(0:20:16) Details on the festival and events: 28th and 29th January

(0:31:41) Behind the scenes: TYKF Team

(0:47:52) Running a safe festival for the audience

(0:51:05) What is the one thing you're looking forward to?

Episode Notes
Nikie Bareja is an artist who hails from Delhi and is currently pursuing her Post Graduate Diploma in Screen Acting at FTII, Pune. She is also a trained Kathak dancer who graduated from St. Stephen’s College in 2019, where she acted and directed productions which went on to be showcased at the Old World Collegiate Theatre Festival, Instituto Cervantes, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland etc.
She is trying to be a polymath, finding her meaning and voice through her craft on the adventure that we call life!

Nikie (@nikiebeee) • Instagram photos and videos

(0:03:11) Studying Screen Acting and Film Marking at FTII

(0:05:47) How does Kathak Show up in your life

(0:07:36) Dealing with preconceived notions of Kathak

(0:13:40) Learning Odissi vs learning Kathak

(0:18:57) Unlearning and relearning when learning new art forms

(0:22:31) Managing your time

(0:26:15) The advantages of being a trained dancer in the realm of acting

(0:33:50) The Making of "Deep Jale"

(0:38:56) Sticking to your art through teenage years.

(0:25:36) The advantages of being a trained dancer in the realm of acting.

(0:33:12) The Making of "Deep Jale"

(0:38:17) Sticking to your art through teenage years.