_Jayant Kastuar Performance

 Dated: 04.04.2012 New Delhi:

Highlights:1)      The first in the series of Kathak public performances of Jayant Kastuar in the capital – the former Secretary of Sangeet Natak Akademi – after he demitted his office in December 2011 to pursue his North Star –  for claiming the life he was meant to live .
2)      Vice Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi and Chairperson of APPAN (Asia Pacific Performing Arts Network) , Smt  Shanta  Serbjeet Singh was the chief guest.
3)     Programme was held in memory of  Manna Srinivasan, an eminent cultural activist and Secretary of New Artists Forum

Nritya Choodamani Jayant Kastuar replaced magic with rhythm at Kamani auditorium this evening with his stunning piece of Kathak performance before a spell bound audience. The former Secretary and the chief executive of Sangeet Natak Akademi - having mentored hundreds of dance exponents across the country for nearly three decades - Jayant was in his  elements while performing in memory of Sri Manna Srinivasan in a classical dance program organized by New Artists Forum.

The Chief Guest of the evening was the Vice Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi and Chairperson of APPAN (Asia Pacific Performing Arts Network) , Smt  Shanta  Serbjeet Singh who remarked, “the ultimate test of any dance is its capacity to touch the heart of rasikas. This happens when the instrument of the dance – the body – is transcended and it no longer matters whether it is young or old, fair or dark, male or female. All that matters then is the creation of rasa and the route through which it is transcended. Jayant’s dance did that”.

The New Artists Forum – a trust committed to the cause of promotion of classical dance –organized this program in memory of its former Secretary, late Manna Srinivasan, who was a well known writer, critic and researcher on performing arts. His specific contribution lies in the painstaking effort he undertook to introduce, showcase and promote artists of the south in the capital and of North in South India. Quipped Tarveen Mehra, the President of the New Artists’ Forum – who herself a senior Kuchipudi dancer - “Mannaji and I started the Forum almost 35 years ago and promoted many new talents, some of whom like Jayant Kastuar are national celebrities today.”

Talking about his performance today, Jayant Kastuar shared, “ Manna Srinivasan was very close to me  and my Guru Pandit Durga Lal ji and it is my honour to perform in homage to a passionate cultural worker like him.”

ABOUT JAYANT KASTUAR

Former Secretary & CEO of I ndia’s National Academy of Performing Arts –  The Sangeet Natak Akademi - Jayant Kastuar is India’s outstanding Kathak exponent, art administrator, speaker, thinker, and visionary in the world of Indian Performing Arts today.

Born 26 Januar y 1955 in Jamshedpur and educated at St. Stephens College in Delhi, Jayant Kastuar represents a rare combination of excellence in classical art, academics and public service. He has equally excelled in stage design, conceptualization and presentation of national and international shows and public speaking on the subject of performing arts. He has pioneered several national and global projects and undertaken significant initiatives for preservation and promotion of the performing art traditions, whichearned him wide respect across the country. He has extensively traveled abroad to countries such as USA, China, Japan, Korea, Brazil among others and designed international shows and programs in many countries.

After a long stint of over 12 years as Secretary and the chief executive of the apex cultural body of per forming arts in India –Sangeet Natak Akademi – Jayant Kastuar voluntary relinquished his post in December 2011 in order to pursue his North Star –  for claiming the life he was meant to live –  especially to focus on art and academics. He is currently a member of the Executive Board of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Jayant took to the stage in 1957, gave his first solo performance of Kathak in 1959 and gained wide acclaim as a child prodigy in his region during 1960s. Initially trained by Guru Shri Indra Kumar Pattanaik, he later came under the tutelage of the renowned master of the Jaipur Gharana, Pandit Durga Lal from whom he received higher training in Delhi. He is today recognized as an outstanding representative of Pandit Durga Lal‘s Kathak style.

Jayant Kastuar has performed widely across the country and participated in major festivals of dance. He is known for his commanding performance as a soloist of the old school. With his exposure to different styles of kathak dance for over half a century, he is at once traditional as he is innovative. He excels both in Nritta or pure dance as well as in Nritya and Abhinaya, the expressional parts. His wide range of innovative Gatnik as and rendering of Bhava to H industani thumries or compositions of other traditions are highly acclaimed. He has presented a number of lectures and demonstrations for the benefit of artists, students of dance, research scholars and university students and IFS probationers. He has also taught dance to young students from time to time, conducted workshops in different cities like Lucknow, Pune, Bhopal, Kolkata, Guwahati, Delhi among others and given guidance to hundreds of young dancers.

Among the major organizations he has performed for are Sangeet Natak Akademi of India, Sangeet Natak Akademies of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Zonal Cultural Centers, state academies and cultural departments of Manipur, Goa, Assam, Karnataka, West Bengal, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh. Prestigious events he has participated in are Kathak Mahotsav (New Delhi), Khajuraho Dance Festival (MP), Konark Festival (Orissa), Uday Shankar Festival (Kolkata), Nehru Centre Dance Festival (Mumbai), Lacchhu Mahraj Jayanti (Lucknow), Ganga Mahotsav (Varanasi), Chakradhar Samaroh (Raigarh), Natyanjali (Chidambarm), Baudhdha Mahotsav (Sarnath), Bhagyachandra Dance Festival (Manipur), and festivals of Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Brahma Gana Sabha, Bharat Kalachar of Chennai.

For his excellence and achievement in dance, Jayant Kastuar has been honoured with the titles of Nritya Choodamani by Shri Krishna Gana Sabha and Natya Padmam by Brahma Gana Sabha of Chennai. The Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh honoured him as Nritya Shiromani. He has also been honoured with the prestigious Raseswar Saikia Barbayan Award of Assam and the Tala Vadya Samman conferred by the Mardala Academy, Bhubaneswer.