Rita Dance Academy - The center of Excellence for Kathak

Guru Kundan Lal Gangani
Guru Kundan Lal Gangani, one of the leading exponent and gurus of Jaipur Gharana of Kathak, was born in Sujangarh, in the Churu district of Rajasthan in the year of 1926. His maternal uncle, the celebrated Kathak Guru Shri Narayan Prasad trained him and he gave his first public performance at an early age of 8 years and then in the royal court of Raigarh at the age of 11 years. He then continued with his performance in the places like Allahabad, Mumbai, Pune, Baroda, Kanpur and Jaipur and his last public performance was at Jodhpur in 1960. After that he turned his attention exclusively to teaching. He lived and taught at many places such as Mumbai, Rajkot, Baroda, Jodhpur, Jaipur and Delhi. Guru Kundan Lal Gangani gave equal importance to the lasya and the tandava anga of dance and, therefore, he also gave emphasis on abhinaya. He introduced new gats in vilambit laya and joined them into parans to create new and unique compositions. He also created numerous new bols, tihais, parans etc. He innovated in performing chalan and qayada as footwork and introduced chhanda at the onset of every thumri. He firmly believed in Kathak as a solo dance and always strived in his training to produce, above all, solo performers. He was a brilliant tabla player as well. He joined Delhi Kathak Kendra in 1970 as a Guru and taught here till he breathed his last on 16th July 1984.

Guru Kundan Lal Gangani

Guru Kundan Lal Gangani, one of the leading exponent and gurus of Jaipur Gharana of Kathak, was born in Sujangarh, in the Churu district of Rajasthan in the year of 1926. His maternal uncle, the celebrated Kathak Guru Shri Narayan Prasad trained him and he gave his first public performance at an early age of 8 years and then in the royal court of Raigarh at the age of 11 years. He then continued with his performance in the places like Allahabad, Mumbai, Pune, Baroda, Kanpur and Jaipur and his last public performance was at Jodhpur in 1960. After that he turned his attention exclusively to teaching. He lived and taught at many places such as Mumbai, Rajkot, Baroda, Jodhpur, Jaipur and Delhi.

Guru Kundan Lal Gangani gave equal importance to the lasya and the tandava anga of dance and, therefore, he also gave emphasis on abhinaya. He introduced new gats in vilambit laya and joined them into parans to create new and unique compositions. He also created numerous new bols, tihais, parans etc. He innovated in performing chalan and qayada as footwork and introduced chhanda at the onset of every thumri. He firmly believed in Kathak as a solo dance and always strived in his training to produce, above all, solo performers. He was a brilliant tabla player as well. He joined Delhi Kathak Kendra in 1970 as a Guru and taught here till he breathed his last on 16th July 1984.

Guru Pt. Rajendra Gangani
Guru Pt. Rajendra Gangani is a renowned Kathak dancer trained in the Jaipur Gharana. The son and disciple of Pt. Kundan Lalji Gangani, he started training in the art of Kathak dance at the early age of four. The renowned Jaipur 'Gharana' saw the emergence of an outstanding performer and crusader of the art in the talented scion of a family of hereditary dancers serving the art of Kathak for centuries together. Pt. Rajendra has easily absorbed the most complicated and difficult 'Bols' of Kathak, today, mesmerizing audiences under the spell of his art for hours together. He has enriched himself with the essence of this style of dance together with integrating the purity of tradition with the creativeness of a contemporary approach. Pt. Rajendra graduated from the Kathak Kendra, Delhi in the year 1983-84, and ever since has made significant contributions to this field. Although he sticks to the pure tradition of his gharana, he is an indefatigable experimenter, having choreographed several group compositions and dance dramas to standing ovations and rave reviews. For his outstanding contribution to Kathak, Pt Rajendra Gangani received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2003 from President A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, the highest award for contribution to Indian performing arts.

Guru Pt. Rajendra Gangani

Guru Pt. Rajendra Gangani is a renowned Kathak dancer trained in the Jaipur Gharana. The son and disciple of Pt. Kundan Lalji Gangani, he started training in the art of Kathak dance at the early age of four. The renowned Jaipur 'Gharana' saw the emergence of an outstanding performer and crusader of the art in the talented scion of a family of hereditary dancers serving the art of Kathak for centuries together. Pt. Rajendra has easily absorbed the most complicated and difficult 'Bols' of Kathak, today, mesmerizing audiences under the spell of his art for hours together. He has enriched himself with the essence of this style of dance together with integrating the purity of tradition with the creativeness of a contemporary approach.

Pt. Rajendra graduated from the Kathak Kendra, Delhi in the year 1983-84, and ever since has made significant contributions to this field. Although he sticks to the pure tradition of his gharana, he is an indefatigable experimenter, having choreographed several group compositions and dance dramas to standing ovations and rave reviews.

For his outstanding contribution to Kathak, Pt Rajendra Gangani received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2003 from President A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, the highest award for contribution to Indian performing arts.

Guru Smt.Shashi Sankhla
Born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, Guru Smt.Shashi Sankhla was trained in music and dance under several gurus at the Rashtriya Kala Mandal in Jodhpur. First, she learnt Kathak from Pt. Mool Chand Gometi and later learnt the dance from Pt. Kundan Lal Gangani. She was also trained in vocal music by her guru Shri B. N. Kshirsagar, trained in Pakhawaj by Pt. Badrinarayan Pareek, trained in Bharatanatyam by Smt. Pratibha Pandit, and trained in folk dances from Master Kasimji. Briefly, she also took training in Kathak under Pandit Mohan Lal. Guru Shashi Sankhla received Sangeet Alankar degrees in Kathak in 1965 and in music in 1971 from the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Miraj. In 2003, she earned doctorate in anthropology from the Inter-Cultural Open University, Netherlands. Shrimati Shashi Sankhla started her career as a teacher at the Rashtriya Kala Mandal in 1967. She joined the Kathak Kendra at Jaipur as a Nritya Guru in 1978 and served that institution as Principal from 2003 up to 2006. Subsequently, she established her own dance institution, Tilak Sangeet Kendra, where she has groomed many dancers including her own daughters. An accomplished performer and teacher, Shrimati Sankhla has conducted several workshops and seminars on Kathak dance, travelling widely in India and abroad. She has won critical acclaim for her work in Kathak using the Mand song-form of Rajasthan, and has published a book on the subject titled Mand: Kathak Nritya mein Abhinay ka ek Sashakta Madhyam. She has received several honours including the Rajasthan Shree (1997) and the Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2001). For her contribution to Kathak dance, guru Smt.Shashi Sankhla received the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2008.

Guru Smt.Shashi Sankhla

Born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, Guru Smt.Shashi Sankhla was trained in music and dance under several gurus at the Rashtriya Kala Mandal in Jodhpur. First, she learnt Kathak from Pt. Mool Chand Gometi and later learnt the dance from Pt. Kundan Lal Gangani. She was also trained in vocal music by her guru Shri B. N. Kshirsagar, trained in Pakhawaj by Pt. Badrinarayan Pareek, trained in Bharatanatyam by Smt. Pratibha Pandit, and trained in folk dances from Master Kasimji. Briefly, she also took training in Kathak under Pandit Mohan Lal.

Guru Shashi Sankhla received Sangeet Alankar degrees in Kathak in 1965 and in music in 1971 from the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Miraj. In 2003, she earned doctorate in anthropology from the Inter-Cultural Open University, Netherlands.

Shrimati Shashi Sankhla started her career as a teacher at the Rashtriya Kala Mandal in 1967. She joined the Kathak Kendra at Jaipur as a Nritya Guru in 1978 and served that institution as Principal from 2003 up to 2006. Subsequently, she established her own dance institution, Tilak Sangeet Kendra, where she has groomed many dancers including her own daughters. An accomplished performer and teacher, Shrimati Sankhla has conducted several workshops and seminars on Kathak dance, travelling widely in India and abroad. She has won critical acclaim for her work in Kathak using the Mand song-form of Rajasthan, and has published a book on the subject titled Mand: Kathak Nritya mein Abhinay ka ek Sashakta Madhyam.

She has received several honours including the Rajasthan Shree (1997) and the Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2001). For her contribution to Kathak dance, guru Smt.Shashi Sankhla received the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2008.

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