The Leela Kathak Dancers are a group of young dancers from Seattle, Washington, who would like to share with you the joy of dancing Kathak - a classical dance of North India that combines beautiful movement, spectacular cross rhythms, story-telling and expression. The Leela Kathak Dancers are students of Urmila Nagar. Guru Urmila Nagar, the leading dancer of Jaipur style Kathak, and the senior-most professor of dance at India's national institution for Kathak: the Kathak Kendra, New Delhi. (Continued below)
Urmila Nagar
Annie Penta
Every year, Urmilaji (as she is respectfully known) has been coming to Seattle with her son, tabla virtuoso Vishal Nagar, for a two-month summer residency sponsored by the Prabha Rustagi Memorial Trust--named after her late disciple who began the training of some of the students. Under Urmila's guidance, these students add new compositions, poems, and songs to their repertoire, and improve their speed and expressive skills. At summer's end they give a free showcase performance. Throughout the year, the Leela Kathak Dancers practice with tabla player Annie Penta in classes held once a week. They perform in festivals, benefits, and school outreach programs and are often accompanied by Annie Penta, Urmila Nagar, Vishal Nagar, Shantha Benegal and Brandon McIntosh (all pictured below). We invite you to join our classes and/or be in our audiences for our performances.