Chhavi Pandey has learnt Kathak (Indian classic dance) and is a professional singer as well.
The design is akin to a chudidaar kameez, but is somewhat tighter fitting above the waist, and the 'skirt' portion explicitly cut on the round to enhance the flare of the lower half during spins.
An example of this was Laub's play Total Masala Slammer/Heartbreak No. 5 (2001), in which six months of research in India brought his fascination with Bollywood, Kathak dance and music into a synthesis with Goethe and Western contemporary live art forms.
Kathak |
Vidushi Anurita Rai, disciple and daughter of Acharya Anupam Rai, became a notable in the world of dance as a versatile Kathak exponent because of her historic world record of 10,000 dancing rounds at a stretch (2005).
Khan has also collaborated with the inventor of the Mohan Veena, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ustad Aashish Khan the great Sarode player of the Maihar Gharana, Satvik Veena exponent Pandit Salil Bhatt, Kathak Danceuse/Harmonium soloist Amika Kushwaha, amongst other greats of Indian classical music and Ghazal singers.
The dancers are put through a battery of rounds which test their ability to pick up various dance styles (typically some of the more well-represented genres that will later be prominent in the competition phase, such as Hip-Hop, Bollywood Dance, Jazz, Bharat Natyam, Kathak, Mohiniyattam, Odissi and Contemporary).
Kathak a fine dramatization of poetry in Urdu and Khari boli or Braj bhasha has evolved as an ensemble of Indo-Islamic music and dance and this repertoire is the most beautiful show-piece of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb.
She wanted to be a pilot, but after completing her education at Trinity College, London; took Kathak lessons from choreographer Shiamak Davar; and some modeling assignments, she successfully auditioned for the Liril advertising campaign.
She is the only Canadian born artist to achieve a Masters Degree in kathak dance through the Prayag Sangit Samiti, Allahabad, India.
Pennaach performances have included a traditional diya (candle) dance that highlights three classical dance styles (Bharathanatyam, Kathak and Odissi); lavni, a style which is typical to coastal fishing communities of western India; Giddha, an upbeat Punjabi folk dance; Garba, a popular Gujarati folk dance, as well as modern items such as Madonna's Om Shanti and various Hindi movie dances.
Abro specializes in Bharatanatyam, and has also learnt Kathak and Odissi; Three of eight forms of Indian classical dance and also choreographing and performing Sufi, folk, modern/contemporary as well other genres of classical dance.