Kathak

“We dance to ghazals (Urdu poems), thumris (a genre of semi-classical Indian music) and taranas (a type of Hindustani classical vocal music). There is also a spontaneity and subtle ‘abhinaya’ about Kathak. We usually dance to the syllables of tabla and pakhawaj hence there is a lot of intricate footwork,”

“Music has always been a companion to dance. One cannot think of dance without music. In classical Kathak dance, music played the role of timekeeper in the form of a "lehara" played on the sarangi. Vocal music was only used in the performance of "thumri", "bhajan", or "hori" where a dancer enacted "abhinaya" word to word. Creative music was never a part of Kathak.”