IBAADAT: Exploring Communal Harmony and Gender Equality Through Kathak

Barkha Patel and Tanveer Alam with Vaibhav Kumar Modi

🗓 Friday, 24 January 2025
⏱6:10 pm – 7:10 pm
Venue: The Marvel, 5th Floor, T-Hub

Ibaadat: Exploring Communal Harmony and Gender Equality through Kathak.

Ibaadat, a new duet presentation by Barkha Patel (US) and Tanveer Alam (Canada), delves into the profound ideas of connection, adherence, and submission through the expressive language of Kathak. Ibaadat brings together our shared diasporic experiences as Kathak dancers, examining how we honour and adhere to our distinct lineages/training within the Kathak form while developing collaborative methodologies informed by our individual perspectives on technique and aesthetics. 

Although Kathak unites us, our tutelage has been in different gharanas (schools of thought) within the form, reflecting both divergence and connection in our practices. With a commitment to our respective lineages, we seek to uncover new meanings of companionship—not by isolating ourselves within specific interpretations of the form, but by fostering a kinship that enriches and expands our collaborative potential. This work deeply engages with the materiality of our form, intentionally avoiding

Eurocentric contemporary aesthetics and modalities.

Our collaboration represents a convergence of shared ground and diverse perspectives in aesthetics, training, and outlook. While our contexts differ and we embrace these differences, mutual respect and openness form the foundation of our work. Through this work, we affirm that Kathak is not a singular thing—multiple approaches exist within the form.