Episode Notes

Notes Charlotte Moraga is a Kathak dancer, choreographer and educator. She is currently the artistic director of the Chitresh Das Institute. She began dancing at the age of nine, but it wasn’t until her serendipitous meeting with Pandit Chitresh Das that she found her calling. Four years after beginning her study with Pandit Chitresh Das she joined his company and was a principal dancer in his original works from 1996 to 2016. Some of those seminal productions include: Darbar, Pancha Jati, Subali Sugriwa, Sampurnam, India Jazz Progressions, Sita Haran, Yatra, and Shiva. In 2002 she had her Ganda Bandhan ceremony in Kolkata and performed her first 2 hour solo concert. Since then, she has toured as a solo artist throughout the US and India. She has performed in many prestigious venues and festivals around the world. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote of her performance at the International kathak festival at YBCA: “Thursday night's triumph belonged to Charlotte Moraga…She has technical virtuosity, but more importantly she has intention, and an intelligence that shapes every step.”

Also in 2002, she became the inaugural director of the Chitresh Das Youth Company. She is committed to developing and nurturing the next generation of kathak artists. She has created choreography for the CDYC for almost two decades. In 2018, in her Guru’s birthplace of Kolkata, India, Charlotte received the “Anugami” for her dedication to her Guru and his legacy.

In 2007, she received a Shensen Performing Arts Fellowship which helped her to create original work in collaborations with tap dancer, Chloe Arnold, in ‘Sangam’ at Das’ India Jazz Progressions. Her Performing Diaspora residency at CounterPulse in 2009 helped her to create original work based on a 12th century Sufi poem with saxophone artist Prasant Radhakrishnan. In 2018, her choreography to music composed by Ritesh Das, premiered at the War Memorial Opera House for the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival to critical acclaim, and in 2019, her work ‘Aranya Devi’ premiered at the S.F. Ethnic Dance Festival at Zellerbach Hall. She is currently collaborating with musician Alam Khan and scenic designer, Matthew Antaky in a new work, ‘Mantram’, set to premiere at ODC Theater October 15th, 16 and 17th, 2021.

The short film, ‘Agni’ directed by Alka Raghuram with music composed by Alam Khan was conceived and choreographed in 2020 by Moraga and recently won the award for the Best Mini Arts and Fashion Film at the iHollywood Film Festival, June 2021. In addition to training the next generation in the legacy of Pandit Chitresh Das, Moraga is committed to creating new work in kathak that resonates with the moment.

https://www.chitreshdasinstitute.org/

(0:08:14) Dancing down the steps (0:22:09) How Concepts become dance (0:38:23) The connection of nature and dance (0:45:36) going from ballet to kathak (0:54:53) When should a Kathaka go out of the box? (1:03:30) How Charlotte di teaches differently (1:09:31) How does Charlotte di prepare students

Title Track Audio Credit: Doug Maxwell | Bansure Raga