Leela Dance Collective Presents RERSOUND, A 5-Day Celebration Of Kathak Dance

Leela Dance Collective presents ReSound, a 5-day celebration of kathak dance, featuring free street performances and workshops ($10) to educate and inspire audiences of all ages. The public is invited to experience North Indian classical dance as it reverberates through the streets of Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles, free street performances will take place at such iconic locations as Santa Monica's 3rd St Promenade, DTLA's Grand Park, Pasadena's Memorial Park, Culver City's Town Plaza, Woodland Hills' The Village at Topanga, and the Oak Canyon Community Park showcasing kathak dance at its best, including percussive footwork, swift pirouettes, dynamic repertoire, and exhilarating music.

The workshops are a great opportunity for individuals to experience kathak first hand, the way that kathak dance can ground the body, focus the mind, and uplift the spirit. Workshops are held at some of LA's most popular studios including Evolution Studios, Electric Lodge, and The Vault.

The concept and arrangement of the ReSound repertoire is curated by Rina Mehta, senior disciple of kathak legend Pandit Chitresh Das and cofounder of the critically acclaimed Leela Dance Collective. ReSound showcases Das's original compositions and choreography, while featuring a new generation of emerging kathak dancers trained in his iconic style - Sonali Toppur, Ahana Mukherjee, Carrie McCune, and Ria DasGupta.

All performances are free and open to the public, and all workshops are $10. Register to attend a free street performance and get a discount code for Leela Academy's fall session and register for a workshop to save your spot - availability is limited.

Kathak comes from the word katha, meaning story, and a kathaka is a storyteller. The dance form can be traced back to the kathakas from 400 BCE who were the traveling storytellers and artists of ancient India. During the Mughal Empire (1526-1857), kathak was a form of entertainment for the great emperors of India. In modern times, the art form has emerged on the presidium stage and traveled outside of India, finding expression in diasporic communities throughout the US and beyond. It is one of the eight classical dance forms of India, and encompasses a wide range of performance styles that can be divided into two main categories, storytelling (nritya), and dance without explicit narrative (nritt). One of kathak's most notable characteristics is the fast, percussive footwork dancers perform by striking their bare feet on the floor using various techniques. In addition, it is known for swift pirouettes, a dynamic movement vocabulary, and compelling character portrayal. Kathak is typically performed with North Indian classical Hindustani music, which provides an exhilarating soundscape and a very collaborative environment for the artists. Dancers wear a string of 150-200 bells around each ankle to ornament their footwork and movements, and to highlight the rhythmic sophistication of the artform.

Learn more at https://leela.dance/resound/.

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