Kathak at ZaZen

For those of you who have been following this blog for a while, you will remember that I perform a few times a year at the ZaZen Athletic Spa. This space is great for Indian classical performances, as we are able to perform in a great acoustic, and with no amplification. We are up close and personal with the audience. All together, this makes for a great evening with a warm vibe, which is very inspirational in performance.

Last Friday, September 25, we tried something new - a kathak performance at ZaZen. The space is certainly smaller than the average stage, but Sudeshna was able to make it work. These performances always have the feeling of a house concert.

The evening began with Jake Charkey performing a composition in raag Durga, set to Jhaptaal (10 beats). Very appropriate, since we are not far from Durga puja time. I then performed a medium-length tabla solo (30 minutes) in Teentaal (16 beats). After a short break, we moved off to the side, to clear the 'stage' for Sudeshna Maulik. We accompanied her in vilambit, madhya, and drut teentaal, followed by a Ram bhajan set to Rupaktaal (7 beats).

Vanessa Muri from SweetSpot.ca reviewed the performance for her Sweetlife blog, Montreal Musings. Click here to read her article and see some pictures as well.