Los Angeles, California – Two of Pandit Chitresh Das’s finest disciples took the stage here at the Fountain Theater in the shadows of Griffith Observatory on November 8th, as Joanna Meinl and Rachna Nivas enchanted an intimate audience with two thrilling Kathak solo performances.

With an improvisational routine that is enthralling to the viewer but challenging on the dancer, Meinl and Nivas demonstrated their exceptional command of all elements of the north Indian classical dance form known as Kathak, including taiyari (essential technique), layarki (performing and improvising intricate rhythms), and khoobsurti and nazakat (beauty and subtlety of movement and expression).

In mastering the four above elements, both Meinl and Rivas delivered riveting recitals in Kathak with an uncanny and intense display of percussive footwork and rhythmic storytelling, each dancer moving in perfect harmony with mesmerizing music and melodic singing.

With both soloists starting off their individual routines with an invocation (pranam), stylized tuning (thaat & bol/paran) and expressive storytelling (ghat bhao), Meinl and Nivas both shared with the audience their unique tales through Indian classical dance.

Leading off the evening’s program, the second Kathak show of Fountain Theater’s Mehfil-E series, Meinl told the story of “Sharpa Shishya” – a devotional song dedicated to Lord Shiva, an essential figure in Hindu philosophy.

Following Meinl’s solo performance was Nivas, who presented three different recitals – the Rangmanch dance in which the dancer presents a series of worships and hand gestures to awaken the five senses while invoking the five elements of nature and the four cardinal directions, all in the name of appealing to the deities of Hindu trinity (Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Maheshwara the Destroyer).

After mesmerizing the audience with a 10-beat-cycle tune-up, Nivas displayed one of the greatest innovations of her guru, Pandit Chitresh Das – Kathak Yoga, a unique dance form inspired by Hindu sadhus (spiritual hermits). This modern twist on the classical dance form pushes the dancer’s physical, mental and spiritual boundaries to attain Moksha, or ultimate liberation. Combining rhythmic footwork and movement while playing on the harmonium, Kathak Yoga integrates a dancer’s mind, body and spirit.

Nivas ended her solo performance with “Chaiti,” a musical story about a woman’s sorrow rooted in her longing for her husband just before monsoon season, considered in India to be the most romantic period.

After a brief prayer through song in the name of Lord Krishna, Meinl joined Nivas on stage for a finale duet. In a segment called “Raghupati Raghava,” both dancers performed to a devotional song in the praise of Lord Rama, and is considered a favorite to Mahatma Gandhi.

With Dr. Gopal Marathe on harmonium, Javad Butah on tabla, Antara Bhardwhaj on vocals and Rina Mehta on recitation, manjira and vocal support, Mehfil-E is an amazing display of cultural appreciation and artistic talent coming together on stage for an enthralling, enchanting evening of lightning-fast footwork and electrifying dance.

In all, six dancers from the Pandit Chitresh Das Dance Company will have participated in the Mehfil-E series before it comes to an end next month. Last month, Anjali Nath and Farah Yasmeen Shaikh performed in the opening performance of the three-show series, while Meinl and Nivas headlined the second leg last week. On December 13th, Seibi Lee and Rina Mehta will take the Fountain Theater stage in the final leg of the Mehfil-E series.

The November 8th performance was on the eve of Das’s 65th birthday; Das personally taught all six dancers performing in the dance series, and operates the very successful the Chhandam School of Kathak, teaching aspiring dancers around the world since it was founded in 1980.