Pandit chitresh das biography

He was instrumental in bringing Kathak to the US and is credited with having established Kathak amongst the Indian diaspora in America.
A child prodigy trained from the age of nine by his guru, Pandit Ram Narayan Mishra, Pandit Das was schooled in the two major kathak traditions.
Pandit Chitresh Das was a true master of the art of kathak dance.

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Chitresh Das

Indian dancer, choreographer and educator

Chitresh Das (Devanagari: चित्रेश दास) (9 November 1944 – 4 January 2015) was a classical dancer of the North Indian style of Kathak. Born in Calcutta, Das was a performer, choreographer, composer and educator. He was instrumental in bringing Kathak to the US^[1] and is credited with having established Kathak amongst the Indian diaspora in America.^[2] In 1979, Das established the Chhandam School of Kathak and the Chitresh Das Dance Company in California. In 2002, he founded Chhandam Nritya Bharati in India. There were ten branches of Chhandam worldwide. Until his death in 2015, Das taught dance as a way of life, a path for attaining self-knowledge and as a service to society.

Das performed in India, North America and Europe. He was known for his virtuosic footwork, rhythmic adeptness, compelling storytelling,^[3] as well as his innovation of "Kathak Yoga".^[4]

Early life and background

Chitresh Das was born in Calcutta, West Bengal to Nrityacharya Prohlad Das and Smt. Ni

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Pandit Chitresh Das: Master artiste, guru and humanitarian
- Charlotte Moraga, California
e-mail: ckathak@yahoo.com

January 5, 2009

"This is a good time as any to step back a little and pay tribute to one of the most committed ambassadors of Indian culture in the West. While political analysts and theorists like to talk about the profound "soft influence" of culture, Das has shown its enormous power by example."

Why does India West journalist, Mr. Ashfaque Swapan, say this of Pandit Das in a recent review of Das' critically acclaimed full length Kathak solo, Master of Tradition, a performance that is named among the top 10 dance events of 2008 to see along with such mainstream greats as the Kirov Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Mark Morris Dance Group, Merce Cunningham Dance Company and the San Francisco Hip Hop Festival?

Pt Das' father, Prahlad Das, performing contemporary dance

Pt Das at age 9 with Pt Ramnath Misra (sarangi) and Ram Shankar Sahai (tabla)

From an early age, Pt Chitresh Das, was set to be the ambassador of Kathak, but not just for Americans. Hi

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Chitresh Das

An acclaimed and prolific artist, Pandit Chitresh Das (1944-2015) is a widely acknowledged master of Kathak dance. This is the classic storytelling dance of south India, which contains powerful rhythmic elements, along with grace, mime and drama. Chitresh is also a choreographer, composer and educator.

Born in Calcutta, Chitresh’s powerful mother guided him to Kathak dance at age nine. He studied with a great master with whom he quickly advanced. Soon recognized as a prodigy, he was invited at age eleven to perform for the world renowned Uday Shankar.

After earning his M.A. in India, he came to the United States on a Whitney Fellowship to teach Kathak dance. In 1970 he was invited by Ustad Ali Akbar Kahn to establish a school of dance at the Ali Akbar College of Music in Marin County, California. In succeeding years, Chitresh and his students from his Chhandam: Chitresh Das Dance Company performed to capacity audiences throughout the world. Chitresh returns to India regularly to teach and also has taught at San Francisco State University, Stanford University an