:: Joanna Meinl ::

Joanna Meinl
Chitresh Das Dance Company
Arts Education Director
Office: 415-333-9000
Mobile: 510-684-2442
www.kathak.org

Chitresh Das Dance Company

The world renowned Chitresh Das Dance Company tours the globe, enthralling audiences with dynamic and compelling performances of Kathak, classical dance of North India. Performances highlight the culture, history, philosophy and mathematics of Kathak dance and Indian culture. Artistic Director Pandit Chitresh Das is one of the world's foremost Kathak masters who is known for his virtuosic technique and captivating storytelling. He performs throughout India and internationally and is regularly featured on Indian national television and has recently been featured on BBC and the PBS performing arts show Spark. Pandit Das' school in the San Francisco Bay Area, Chhandam, is the largest Indian classical dance school in North America. He also has schools in Kolkata, North India and Coimbatore, South India, as well as Washington D.C., Boston, Toronto, Canada and Tokyo, Japan.

blurb:
Experience the art of Kathak, classical dance of North India, in it's purest form, the traditional kathak solo. The pure thrill of the kathak solo comes from upaj (improvisation), in order to present the excitement and depth of this incredible tradition, as taught by Pandit Das, the dancer must be exceptional in tayari (stunning technique in footwork, pirouettes and movement), layakari (performing and improvising intricate rhythms), khoobsurti and nazaakat (beauty and subtlety of movement and expression).

artist bio:
Joanna Meinl began studying the enthralling art of Kathak with Pandit Chitresh Das twelve years ago at San Francisco State University, where she also studied Modern dance performance and choreography and earned a B.A. in Dance Ethnology. As a Chitresh Das Dance Company member since 1999 she has performed in several award-winning productions and toured both nationally and internationally, including three tours of India. In addition to performing, Joanna is highly involved in arts education and community events. She teaches Kathak as well as Modern, Ballroom, Latin and Swing dance throughout the Bay Area and currently serves as the Chhandam School of Kathak Managing Director.