Patrons flock to see ‘Kathak Forever’
“I FEEL like dancing!” one fascinated attendee at  ‘Kathak Forever’ exclaimed  as she witnessed the spectacular spins and rhythmic footwork of  dance teacher at the Indian Cultural Centre, Sunil Kumar Lal  as he performed with his students.
Attendance surpassed expectations, and the Centre, located at New Haven,  Bel Air, was packed to capacity, with persons even standing outside of the auditorium to get a glimpse of the organisation’s first lecture/demonstration for 2011.
At the event, which was attended by the High Commissioner of India, Mr. Subit Kumar Mandal and other special invitees of the diplomatic corps, Lal said the dance was very close to his heart.
And indeed, his presentation was an engaging one, with Lal always keeping a smile on his face and maintaining eye contact with his audience, no matter how energetically he did the intricate foot movements of the dance.
Kathak falls into the classical category of Indian dance.
Indian classical dances have definite rules that have been followed traditionally over the years.  It is one of the eight forms of Indian classical dances, originated from northern India, and can be traced back to the nomadic bards of ancient northern India who were known as Kathaks, or storytellers.
These bards, performing in village squares and temple courtyards, mostly specialized in recounting mythological and moral tales from the scriptures, and supplemented their recitals with hand gestures and facial expressions.
There were all the elements of the theatre, using instrumental and vocal music, along with stylized gestures, to enliven the stories. There are several musical instruments of Kathak, which include the tabla, harmonium, Sarangi and the sitar.
The word ‘Kathak’ comes from the Sanskrit word, katha, meaning story, and katthaka in Sanskrit means ‘he who tells a story, or has to do with stories’.
Solo or occasionally accompanied by his students, Lal took his audience through different time periods of the dance, such as the ‘Temple Period’, the ‘Moughal Period’, the ‘Sufi Period’ and present-day.