Classical dance festival goes online, making art accessible globally
The New York Kathak Festival is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that presents and promotes dancers, scholars, and practitioners of Kathak, a classical dance tracing its origins to India. Like so many arts organizations, the New York Kathak Festival (NYKF), had to cancel its flagship event this April. Dance, music, and theater cancelations have been devastating to artists and audiences. Artists are struggling to earn a living and have their work seen, whereas audiences are starved for cultural enrichment. So NYKF decided to pivot—they shifted the entire festival online. ![]()
On Sunday, 19 April, NYKF premiered an online festival (https://youtu.be/7gNT1V8m5Fw), held at a time to ensure audiences from around the world could tune in together. The lineup featured 12 artists from the U.S., Canada, Singapore, Trinidad & Tobago, and the United Kingdom. Artists introduced a new level of vulnerability into their performances—sharing not only their perspectives and worldviews through their work, but also bringing the audience right into their living spaces—offering an unprecedented look into their lives, and their personas on and off stage. Seetal Kaur, a performer from Leicester presented a traditional live solo, accompanied by her husband Kaviraj Singh on vocals and santoor, and brother-in-law Upneet Singh on tabla, showcasing the improvisation and musical exchange that are defining features of Kathak. Singapore-based dancer Sunena Gupta’s performance emphasized the storytelling aspect of the art form, as she presented her vision for what life could look like after the pandemic.
Online presentations are not without their challenges for dancers. Meenakshi Lala, who leads the team’s sponsorship efforts, noted, “We heard from some artists that the NYKF Online presented new challenges for the performers. There’s no feedback loop through applause, nor energy to be drawn from a physically present audience. Performing within limited spaces in their homes is also difficult.” Despite the challenges, however, the New York Kathak Festival’s online event was an important effort towards fostering a sense of community. Hundreds tuned in to watch the event premiere together and expressed their appreciation for the artists and the arts community.The event was supported by the Indian Consulate in New York.