Karachi, Feb 11: Aqsaam-e-Naach: Andaaz-e-Kathak, a two-day Kathak dance presentation, will be held on February 13 and 14 at the Karachi Arts Council, with performances beginning at 8:00 pm on both evenings. The production aims to highlight the discipline, grace, and expressive depth of Kathak, one of South Asia’s most refined classical dance forms.
Choreographed by Mohsin Babar, a leading choreographer and Kathak maestro, the show brings together a group of 12 dancers, all of whom are scholarship students trained at Mr Babar’s Kathak School of Performing Arts, the city’s first academy dedicated to Kathak. These dancers represent years of rigorous practice, dedication, and immersion in the classical Kathak tradition.
The programme will feature eight dance pieces, presented through a combination of group compositions and solo performances. These include classical Kathak repertoire as well as interpretive works such as fusion tarana, ghazal, and other stylistic variations, offering audiences a layered and immersive experience of Kathak’s range and versatility.
“One of the main aims of this show is to break the taboos surrounding dance, especially the ghungroo,” says Mohsin Babar. “The ghungroo is simply the dancer’s instrument, just as the tabla nawaz has the tabla.”
Through Aqsaam-e-Naach, Mr Babar continues his mission to preserve and promote Kathak, an art form increasingly at risk of fading from mainstream cultural spaces. His work is grounded in the principle of inclusion. The Kathak School of Performing Arts offers full scholarships to deserving students who wish to learn Kathak through the lineage system but would otherwise be unable to access such training.
Beyond urban stages, Mr Babar’s strategy is to take his productions to small towns and villages, ensuring that audiences who rarely encounter classical dance are able to experience it live.
Tickets are priced at Rs 1,500 and are available online via Townevent, as well as at the venue.
The patron of the show is Naween Mangi, a writer, rural development specialist, social entrepreneur, and a committed promoter of the performing arts.
Profile: Mohsin Babar
Mohsin Babar is one of Pakistan’s leading Kathak dancers and choreographers, known for his disciplined classical practice as well as his ability to communicate the language of Kathak to contemporary audiences. Trained within the traditional lineage system, he has dedicated his career to preserving the integrity of the form while expanding its reach through thoughtful choreography and performance.
He is the founder and director of the Kathak School of Performing Arts, Karachi’s first dedicated Kathak school, where students from underprivileged backgrounds are trained on full scholarships. His pedagogy emphasises rigour, musicality, storytelling, and respect for tradition.
Through stage productions, community outreach, and touring performances, Babar actively works to take classical dance beyond elite spaces, engaging new audiences across Pakistan, including in smaller towns and rural areas.
Mr Babar has 27 years of experience and has performed all over the world. He trained under Pakistan’s pioneering kathakar Ustaad Hamid Hussain Shaad Jaipuri and then underwent advanced training at the National School of Drama in India under Ustaad Rajendra Ganganni, one of the world’s foremost kathakars today. Mr Babar has also been trained in contemporary dance in Germany and in Pakistan’s folk dances.
Khwaab, his feature-length dance-theatre show, was shown to 50,000 people in six cities in Sindh last year. He also produced Soch Badlen, Zindagi Sawarein, a community theatre play on family planning and women’s rights, that was performed in 10 villages.
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