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Contact Info:
Phone; 641-472-4222 Email: wendy@kathakwendy.com
Kathak is the classical dance of North India. It is famous for it’s fancy footwork and fast spins. Like all the major dances of India, Kathak has two main aspects: a storytelling aspect, called abinaya, and a purely rhythmic aspect, called Nritta.
“Kathak” means storyteller. Thousands of years ago a narrative form of dramatizing the myths and stories of India’s great literature evolved into an essential part of temple and village life. Professional storytellers traveled all over north India presenting their beautiful language of symbolic gestures, called mudras. Using mime and music, they told stories and even though their art was culturally specific, we find in these mudras and poses the invoking of universally understood human emotions.
During the 700-year reign of the Persian Kings, Kathak blossomed as a virtuoso dance, reflecting the Persian love of intricacy and subtlety of expression. Three main features characterize this technical aspect of the dance: An incredibly fluid language of movement, mesmerizing footwork; and the recitation of syllables called “bols”, which is an art in itself.
Primarily danced to a 16-beat measure, Kathak’s footwork emphasizes rhythmic cycles, which culminate in the “sam” (pronounced “sum”). The sam is the last beat of one rhythmic cycle and the first beat of the next cycle.
Dances are often recited before they are danced, especially when the music is live. The movements, footwork and the recited syllables (bols) of each dance correspond directly to the beats of the tabla or pacawaj—the percussion. Delightful sounds like Takita Takita Dina dina are much more interesting and intricate than counting 1 2 3 4.
Indian and Persian music and culture have blended together in this exquisite and expressive dance-art, which is said to be the origin of Flamenco and the first dances of the Spanish Gypsies who migrated from India. Kathak has also inspired Celtic traditions and even modern and jazz dance styles.
About Wendy
 In 1982 I saw my first performance of classical Indian dance. Abilasha Singh came on stage in white and silver and mesmerized the audience with her spins and haunting footwork. Unique as it was, everything I loved in dance was in this dance – the staccato moves and crisp stops of jazz, the intensity and drama of Flamenco, the ornate hands of belly dance, the poise and virtuosity of ballet. It was as though I were seeing the ancient source of modern dance.
Wendy began training in 1987 with Gina Lalli in Austin, Texas after a year of Bharta Natyam. Since then she has studied in India and the U.S. with such teachers as Munna Shukla in Delhi, Shila Mehta of Mumbai. Grateful for being exposed only to the best exponents of what we call "pure" kathak (as opposed to the style often adopted in films), Wendy’s primary and much-loved teacher is Sandhya Desai--senior teacher at the well-known Kadamb Center for Dance and Music in Ahmedebad, and director of Nritya Kala Kendra in the Chicago area.
In 1998 she founded Pashyanti School of Kathak in Fairfield, Iowa. Rostered with the Iowa Arts Council, Wendy also presents school assemblies, one-day and week-long residencies for K-12 and lecture/domos for colleges and universities. In Iowa City, she holds classes at Arts A La Carte Dance Studio. Wendy teaches traditional Kathak and also promotes the essence of Kathak, beyond ethnicity, by exploring the richness of its language in the context of contemporary dance and music.
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