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Specialties
The Chitresh Das Dance Company & Chhandam School of Kathak is an internationally renowned nonprofit arts organization that is dedicated to the education, promotion, and preservation of Kathak dance and classical Indian art and culture.
History
Established in 1980.
A child prodigy trained from the age of nine, Pandit Das was schooled in the two major kathak traditions, Lucknow and Jaipur. Pandit Das was brought to the United States in 1970 on a Whitney Fellowship to teach kathak at the University of Maryland. In 1971, renowned Indian classical musician Ustad Ali Akbar Khan invited him to establish a dance program at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California. Pandit Das’ desire to reach out and expand his work prompted him to found his own dance company and school in 1979, the Chitresh Das Dance Company & Chhandam School of Kathak (CDDC), incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1980.
Thirty-five years later, CDDC boasts one of the world’s foremost Indian classical dance companies and the largest kathak institution in North America. Pt. Das has additional schools in India, Boston, LA and Toronto.
Meet the Business Owner
Pandit Chitresh Das.
Business Owner
Pandit Chitresh Das (1944 — 2015)
Pandit Chitresh Das was one of the most dynamic and far-reaching visionaries to emerge from modern India. A prolific artist and educator, his thrilling solo performances, ground-breaking collaborations, cutting-edge choreography, evocative productions, holistic teaching pedagogy, accomplished disciples, and overall evolution of kathak dance, have influenced the art form world-wide.