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ABOUT KATHAK
Kathak is among the six major classical dances of India and one of the most dynamic theater arts in the world. The word Kathak is derived from katha, meaning "the art of storytelling." It is also synonymous with the community of artist known as “Kathakas” whose hereditary profession was to narrate history while entertaining. With dance, music and mime these storytellers of ancient India would bring to life the great scriptures and epic of ancient times, especially the great Indian epics the Mahabharata and the Ramayana and the Puranas of Sanskrit literature.
From its early form as a devotional expression dedicated to the Hindu gods, Kathak gradually moved out of the temples and into the courts of the rulers; the Hindu maharajas and the Muslim “nawabs”. With these rulers' cultural wealth and preoccupation with lavish entertainment, a class of dancing girls and courtesans emerged to entertain the palaces. Much later, during the mid-1800's, Kathak enjoyed a renaissance and gained prominence among the kings and zamindars (feudal overlords) not only as a form of entertainment, but as a classical art form.
There are three main gharanas - in the artistic sense the gharana was somewhat comparable to a "style" or "school".  Over the years poor transportation and communication caused the various gharanas to adopt their own particular approach to presentation, technique and repertoire.

These gharanas are named according to the geographical area in which they developed.  These are the Jaipur, Lucknow, and the Benares gharanas.  Each has a slight difference in interpretation and repertoire.
Today, Kathak has regained its popularity after the period of decline during the rule of the British Empire. Kathak’s unique history has made it very different from other traditional dance forms, although it still retains the same roots. Expressive motion, rhythmic accuracy, graceful turning, poised stances, technical clarity, hand gestures (mudras) and subtle expression (bhava-abhinaya) are important components of modern Kathak.