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Pandit Chitresh Das, considered one of the most influential Indian classical artists instrumental in popularizing Kathak in the U.S., died unexpectedly on Jan. 4 in San Rafael, California. He was 70. He is survived by his wife, Celine, his two daughters, Shivaranjani and Saadhvi.
Das died of acute aortic dissection, a rare disorder which strikes about three in 10,000 people, usually older men, according to a statement from the Chitresh Das Dance Company. Pandit Das was stricken at his San Rafael home, where he lived with his wife and two daughters, and died at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Terra Linda. He “did not suffer and was surrounded by family and loved ones,” the dance company said.
A performer, choreographer, composer and educator, Das is credited with helping introduce Kathak, a form of Indian classical dance that means “the art of storytelling,” to American audiences. The Kolkata-born Das schooled in Kathak since he was nine by his guru Pandit Ram Narayan Misra. His career in India was launched when he was invited by Ravi Shankar to dance at the first Rimpa Festival in Varanasi.
In 1980, he founded the Chitresh Das Dance Company and Chhandam School of Kathak in San Francisco and is now recognized as the largest Indian classical dance school in North America.
“His contribution to Kathak, to dance, to art, to India, to community, to humanity, and to life stretch across the globe and beyond,” the school said in a statement. “In his words, ‘Life and death are the only reality. You come alone, you go alone. Only thing to do in between is practice and do whatever you do with love’,” the statement added.
Das maintained a vigorous performing schedule at the academy, which now has its affiliates worldwide.
In 1970, he received a Whitney Fellowship through the University of Maryland to teach Kathak, and the following year Ali Akbar Khan invited him to be an instructor at the Ali Akbar College of Music in California.
Das learned both the percussive and sensual elements of Kathak, including the solo tradition in which a dancer is required to go on stage without any prior rehearsal and execute improvised rhythms, compositions, and storytelling for two to three hours.
Das also spent a large amount of time in India, performing, hosting workshops and teaching at his school, Chhandam Nritya Bharati, in Kolkata, his bio data on the dance company website said.
