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For centuries, millions of people around the world have been connected by the artistry of a dance style known as “Kathak.” Soon, the Fox Cities will have the opportunity to be awed by the same mesmerizing display that has evolved with many eras of human history.

Kathak is one of eight classical dance styles that originate in India, but it has the distinction of being the only one from North India. Kathak is known for its intricate footwork, rapid spins, and hand movements called “mudras.” The result is a dance style that’s as rhythmic as it is emotive, as precise as it is fluid. It is known as a dance of storytelling.

Anindita Anaam is an Appleton resident with a close relationship to this style: she started learning it at the age of four and she’s been performing since the age of 10. It’s something she performs and even teaches to this day.

“Kathak is so, you know, flexible, but it’s a beautiful dance form of a lot of pirouettes, rhythm and stories,” Anaam said.

The name “Kathak” comes from the Sanskrit word “katha,” meaning “story,” and its earliest practitioners – Kathakars – were traveling bards who recited epics through movement (mudras) and rhythmic footwork (“tatkar”).

Over centuries, the style of Kathak absorbed influences as it grew, creating a dynamic, ever-evolving art form.

“While other Indian classical forms remain closely tied to temple traditions, Kathak uniquely bridges both devotional storytelling and classical court performance, allowing it to tell a wide variety of stories from the mythological to the modern and thus evolve over time,” Anaam said.

The style of Kathak thrives on adaptability. It can tell traditional stories of gods and warriors, love and loss – but it can also share contemporary narratives or struggles, such as environmental themes.

That’s what Katha Dance Theatre Choreographer Rita Mustaphi has done in crafting Prakritir Pratisodh, a title that literally translates to “Nature’s Revenge.”

Katha Dance Theatre is an internationally-acclaimed dance company from Minneapolis that is touring to bring the style to the Fox Cities.

By using familiar impressions and traditional movements in the Kathak style, Mustaphi has crafted a narrative that emphasizes natural elements, like mudras that symbolize gathering clouds, footwork to simulate roaring thunders, sharp gestures and looks to evoke lightning… and that’s just a teaser of some of what comprises the rainy season in her dancers’ tale.

Musicality and sonic elements are strengths of the art form. Kathak dancers wear ankle bells (“ghungroos”) that accentuate complex rhythms and sounds, often engaging in a dynamic interplay with percussionists in a dialogue of beats known as “sawal jawab.”

Anaam, who is part of the community of Kathak dancers but is not a member of visiting Katha Dance Theatre, explained that the sounds produced by the dancers is every bit a part of the artistry audiences will be experiencing.

“You can just see the magic happening on the stage. They call it ‘sawal jawab,’ or question/answer. So, the percussion is asking a question and I’m answering by my feet,” Anaam explained. “It’s a bundle of a lot of technical stuff. More than its storytelling, [Kathak]’s very technical, very technical.”

Distinctive elements of Kathak include:

• Tatkar (rhythmic footwork) using ankle bells
• Chakkars (fast, graceful spins)
• Abhinaya (expressive storytelling through facial expressions and gestures)
• Bol (rhythmic syllables recited and danced to)
• A blend of Bhakti (devotional themes) and Persian court aesthetics, leading to two major styles: Jaipur gharana (emphasizing footwork) and Lucknow gharana (focusing on expressiveness and grace).

A Kathak performance can shift seamlessly from slow, deliberate movements to rapid, breathtaking pirouettes, demonstrating both athleticism and grace. Unlike some other Indian classical dance forms, Kathak maintains a naturalistic expressiveness, using subtle facial choices rather than overt theatricality.

“Kathak… is very, very graceful and not overly dramatic. Indian dance forms are very dramatic art forms… But Kathak is very subtle. The way I am talking, I will just maybe a little bit, 10% go up on my drama, but that is it,” explained Anaam. “So, I don’t have to be over dramatic with my face and everything and look like melodrama on the stage. It’s beautiful. And always a soft smile is on your face.”

Despite the complexity and difficulty of the movements, the features of its dancers remain soft. The impression of softness in the face of heightened technical effort is a mastery all its own.

As the upcoming performance brings Kathak’s spellbinding artistry to local audiences, it offers a rare opportunity to witness a dance form that blends history, rhythm and emotion into a breathtaking visual symphony.

“I always say Kathak is a vessel to the rhythm. People need to visualize you, the rhythm in you. So, you are basically… the personification of that rhythm on the stage. That’s how deep Kathak is. People sometimes fail to understand it. It is a storyteller’s themes, but it is not only about storytelling. It has more to it,” Anaam said.

“People just ask me, ‘How you do that? How you do that?’ But it’s, I always say, it’s years and years of work which, I’m making it look easy but that is what years does to you: it makes it look easy for onlookers but of course the behind-the-scenes are way more difficult. You look at a ballet dancer, ‘Oh, how [does] she [do] the pirouettes?’ Oh, because she broke her everything to be so flawless on the stage. It’s hours and hours of practice,” said Anaam.

Whether performed to traditional sitar and tabla compositions or adapted to different musical styles, Kathak remains a vibrant, living art form – one that speaks to the universal power of rhythm, movement, and human expression.

“Modern Kathak has occasionally been explored through fusion with Western dance forms and the cross-cultural impact on its movement vocabulary, but its classical foundation remains distinct,” Anaam said.

You could be drawn to its fast spins, its storytelling depth, or the sheer precision of its movement, but one thing is certain: Kathak is an experience that transcends words.

Katha Dance Theatre: Prakritir Pratisodh – Nature’s Revenge! is performing at Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Thrivent Hall on April 12 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Boldt Arts Alive! Series.

There will also be a free preshow event for ticketholders at 6:30 p.m. that will engage the senses. Inspired by the performance, enjoy nature-themed activities and music, taste a selection of Indian beverages and small bites, courtesy of Appleton’s own Sai Ram, and capture memories at an exclusive photo booth designed by local organization IndUS of the Fox Valley. More information is available here.

To take a free Kathak Dance Workshop and learn from master Kathak artist Rita Mustaphi one day before the performance, you can RSVP here.