Aqsaam-e-Naach: Andaaz-e-Kathak will present two evenings of Kathak on February 13 and 14 at the Karachi Arts Council, with performances starting at 8:00 pm. The production aims to showcase the discipline, grace and expressive depth of one of South Asia’s most refined classical dance forms, offering Karachi audiences a concentrated look at Kathak Karachi through both classical repertoire and contemporary interpretations.
Choreographed and directed by Mohsin Babar, the show features a company of 12 dancers who are scholarship students of the Kathak School of Performing Arts, the city’s first academy dedicated to Kathak. These performers represent years of disciplined training under Mr Babar’s pedagogy, which emphasizes rigour, musicality, storytelling and respect for tradition.
The evening includes eight dance pieces presented as a blend of group compositions and solo performances, moving between traditional tala and expressive items. Audiences will see classical pieces alongside interpretive works such as fusion tarana and ghazal adaptations, designed to give a layered and immersive experience of Kathak Karachi. As Mr Babar has said, “The ghungroo is simply the dancer’s instrument, just as the tabla nawaz has the tabla,” a point meant to challenge taboos and normalise instruments of dance.
Preservation and inclusion are central to the production. The Kathak School of Performing Arts offers full scholarships to deserving students who would otherwise lack access to formal training, and Mr Babar has a clear strategy to take productions beyond the city, bringing Kathak to small towns and villages so that wider audiences can experience live classical performance.
Tickets for the two-night run are priced at Rs 1,500 and can be purchased online via Townevent or at the Karachi Arts Council box office. The production is patronised by Naween Mangi, a writer and rural development specialist who supports efforts to broaden performing arts audiences across Pakistan.
Mr Babar brings more than 27 years of experience to the stage, having trained under Pakistan’s pioneering kathakar Ustaad Hamid Hussain Shaad Jaipuri and receiving advanced training at the National School of Drama in India under Ustaad Rajendra Ganganni. His background also includes contemporary dance study in Germany and training in Pakistani folk dances. Recent projects include the feature-length dance-theatre production Khwaab, seen by some 50,000 people across six Sindh cities, and the community theatre play Soch Badlen, Zindagi Sawarein, which toured ten villages to address family planning and women’s rights, reflecting his commitment to taking Kathak Karachi and related arts into everyday public life.
