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 Kathak and Tap Dance at Rajarani Temple Pics courtesy: Odisha Tourism February 9, 2013 It was a cool and pleasant evening with a serene atmosphere when renowned Kathak maestro Pandit Chitresh Das and Emmy award winner Tap dancer Jason Samuels Smith from USA delighted the audience with their best of Kathak and Tap dance in a jugalbandi performance entitled the ‘Fastest Feet in Rhythm.’ Organized by the United States Consulate General, Hyderabad, in association with Odisha Tourism inside the Rajarani Temple premises at Bhubaneswar, this event drew a huge crowd on 8th February 2013. At the outset of the rhythm program, Jason displayed some intricacies of footwork synchronizing beautifully to the accompaniment of piano by Theodore Hill, bass by Sascha Jacobsen and drums by Andrew Atkinson.
In the 2nd phase, it was Pt Chitresh Das who enthralled the audiences with the rhythm and footwork of Kathak with nimble movements and pirouettes. Based on the concept of “innovation within tradition” Pt Das has explored the boundaries of Kathak, creating compelling new works and techniques that are inventive yet deeply rooted in the classical tradition. Accompanied by Biplab Bhattacharyya on tabla, Jayanta Banerjee on sitar and Debasish Sarkar on vocal, Chitresh Das showcased some of his innovative choreographies in Kathak. Then both artistes performed jugalbandi mingling the tradition of East and West punctuating the nuances of both Kathak and Tap dancing. It was a beautiful blend of vocal, instrumental and dancing. In Abhinaya, the expressive form of dance, Pt Chitresh Das captivated the rasikas present. The function was graced by Soubhagya Ranjan Dhal, Accountant General, Katherine Dhanani, US Consul General, Ashok Kumar Tripathy, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Susil Kumar Dash, Director, Culture. The program was compered by Srinivas Ghatuari, Snigdha Pattnaik and Gurudit Singh. |
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