Kathak Dance Festival begins today at Chhayanaut

For the fifth consecutive year, a three-day Kathak Dance Festival will begin this evening at 6:05pm at the main auditorium of Chhayanaut Sangskriti Bhaban. Organised by the Kathak Dance Community, Kathak legend Pt. Birju Maharaj will inaugurate the festival running till December 26.

The organisers will confer Zeenat Zahan Memorial Award this year to Vidushi Saswati Sen, a leading Indian exponent of Kathak. Noted Bangladeshi dance artistes Laila Hasan, Minu Haque and Anisul Islam Hero will speak as guests on the opening day. Shazu Ahmed, the head of Kathak Dance Community will deliver welcome address at the event.

Apart from solo and group dance presentations by both noted and promising artistes and dance troupes of Bangladesh, the festival will have a seminar on the title “Kathak Nrityakalar Bikashey Pandit Birju Maharaj” at 10:30am on December 25. The seminar, to be held at Chhayanaut's Seminar Room, will have Vidushi Saswati Sen and noted Bangladeshi dance artistes as discussants.

Artistes from the troupes Kathak Dance Community, Rewaz Performers' School, Pushpanjali, Angikam, Nrityashram, Nupur Nikkan of Moulvi Bazar and Rangpur will perform on the opening day.

Artistes of PFDA Vocational Training Centre, Atanu Biswas of Pabna, Rafjaya Oishee of Kathak Dance Community, Zarin and Tasin of Dinajpur and Ainany Arpita, Tahmina Anwar Anika, Aporajita Mustafa and Abantika Al Reza of Dhaka will perform solo and group dance on the second day. Directed by Shazu Ahmed, artistes of Kathak Dance Community will stage a dance drama titled “Proshongo 47”. Sharmila Bandyopadhyay, Munmun Ahmed and Deepa Khandakar will be present as guests on the day.

A jugalbandi dance recital by Pt. Birju Maharaj and Vidushi Saswati Sen is the highlight of the concluding day's festival. Anirban Bhattacharya and Chandrachur Bhattacharya will accompany the performance on instruments while Utpal Ghosal will support on vocal music.

Veteran cultural personality Kamal Lohani, director general of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Liaquat Ali Lucky, Golam Mostafa Khan, Hasanur Rahman Bachchu and Hasan Arif will be present as guest on the concluding day.