Rina Mehta speaks to Victoria Looseleaf for SF Classical Voice about her latest work, ReSound: Kathak in the Streets.
While its not uncommon to find musicians, mimes, and an assorted coterie of hip-hop/krumper/B-boy types performing on the streets of most major American cities, it would be highly unusual to stumble upon a dancer practicing the art form of Kathak. Derived from the word "Kathakars" or storytellers, Kathak is a Moghul court dance of North India featuring quicksilver footwork, dazzling pirouettes, exquisitely detailed hand movements and theatrical facial expressions performed to complex rhythms accented by dozens of ankle bells.
But bringing this dynamic dance to the streets is precisely what Los Angeles-based Rina Mehta is doing with ReSound...