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As the first in her family to learn Kathak and build a career around it, Annu developed deep empathy and passion to make Kathak accessible to anyone keen to learn. This ambition has deeply influenced how she practices, performs, and teaches this ancient and rich form of dance. Today, Annu devotes her time to understanding Buddhist philosophy, connecting its essence with her life, and blending her learnings with Kathak; reflected in her latest performances and workshops.
Among her early achievements is the prestigious SPIC-MACAY Gurukula Anubhav Scholarship where Annu had the opportunity to experience Guru-shishya parampara under Pandit Birju Maharaj ji for a month. She further honed her Kathak skills for a year under Pandit Rajendra Kumar Gangani ji at the National Institute of Kathak Kendra, New Delhi.
Annu holds a Senior Diploma and Nritya Visharad from the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi. She also holds a BA honours in Political Science from Delhi University.
PRACTITIONER
As a practitioner, Annu delves deep into philosophical and spiritual teachings of the Buddha, Sant Kabir, and various Sufi saints. Annu derives immense joy in incorporating spiritual lessons into her Kathak practice, pioneering new frontiers for stories, characters, and lessons conveyed through this dance form. Annu's latest body of work includes developing traditional Kathak choreographies for Sutras and Stotras from Indian Buddhist Traditions such as Heart Sutra, Songs of Saraha and Bodhisattva Shantideva's Aspiration Prayer.
PERFORMER
Annu is an experienced solo and group performer having accompanied her guru Smt. Monisa Nayak’s troupe as a part of several productions, workshops, and lecture demonstrations across major cities of the country including Kota, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Chhattisgarh, Garhwal, Uttarakhand, Cochin, Trivandrum and Delhi-NCR. Some of her major performances include (not in chronological order) :
- Siddhartha Festival, Bodhgaya, Bihar organised by Khyentse Foundation
- Closing ceremony of India-Africa Forum Summit-2015, organized by ICCR at Rashtrapati Bhawan
- Holika Dahan Eternal Mewar Festival at The City Palace, Udaipur
- Indian Dance Festival, organized by Govt. of Tamilnadu at Mahabalipuram
- Saptavarna-Seven shades of Indian Classical Music & Dance, organized by Orissa Dance Academy at Bhuvaneshwar
- 'Haaroti Mahotsava' and 'Baaran Festival' of Rajasthan
- ‘Liberation with arts’ organised by Createnet Education, New Delhi
- Glimpses of Indian Art & Culture, organized by Lok Kala Manch at New Delhi
- Ministry of Textiles, FICCI, National Human Rights Commission, Institute of Himalayan Bio-resources and Technology
- ‘Thread of Life’ and ‘Nari in Sari’ Baithak in Chandigarh
She has been an active part of various productions including 'Nartan', 'Kathak-Utsav', 'Nav-Pallav', 'Kathak-Darpan', 'Krishna-Nartan' and 'Khanak-Dhara', organized by KHANAK Institute
of Performing Arts, New Delhi.
FACILITATOR
Annu’s teaching style centers on empathy and compassion fostering a group of Kathak learners who go through the rigour of learning the dance form while propping each other up. To this end, she designed Anubhuti, a Kathak workshop that brought this dance form and a myriad of life skills to children from underserved communities. Annu also conducts Kathak workshops and sessions for adults looking to learn this dance form.
In addition, meditation and the awareness derived from practicing it constitute an important aspect of Annu’s Kathak sessions. She believes in imparting knowledge of Kathak in its purest form while also providing opportunities for students to express their creativity and experiment through online Baithak performances. Annu currently facilitates Kathak workshops and regular classes under her initiatives Abhivyakti, Kathak Immersion, Kathak Ekam, and Anubhuti.
STEP INTO THE GALLERY
...where every picture tells its own story! :)
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