Stories of Rhythm
With Jason Samuels Smith and Seema Mehta

Date: Wednesday May 15, 2019, 12:00 PM-01:00 PM
Price: $20, $18 Friends, $15 students and seniors
Includes same-day Museum admission (redeem at Ticket Desk)

Calling all dance lovers! Learn a new technique blending tap and classical Indian kathak from Emmy Award-winning tap dancer Jason Samuels Smith and acclaimed kathak dancer Seema Mehta.

This one-hour class for all skill levels is your chance to experience rhythmic improvisation together with ancient storytelling. Smith will take you through a short history of tap, then introduce movements and steps. Mehta will share the origins of kathak and lead the group through an activity known as Kathak Yoga, involving singing and dancing.

No dance experience or special footwear required.

Bios: 

Seema Mehta is a Mumbai-born kathak dancer, who trained under the renowned dancer Pandit Chitresh Das. She is also the Director of Chhandam Nritya Bharati-India, where she teaches hundreds of dancers in Mumbai and Kolkata, and she works in collaboration with the New Light Project, Akanksha Foundation, and SMILE Foundation in Mumbai to empower children through kathak. Mehta holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts, specialising in painting and sculpture, from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Jason Samuel Smith is an Emmy Award-winning tap dancer, choreographer, and director from New York. He’s held leading roles in several critically-acclaimed productions including the Tony Award-winning Broadway show Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk; the film Tap Heat; Outkast’s film Idlewild; the AMC television series Cool Women; and Soul Possessed alongside Patti Labelle. Smith is the founder of the tap company A.C.G.I. (Anybody Can Get It) and the JaJa Productions band that tours across America. He has also performed in India Jazz Suites in collaboration with kathak master Pandit Chitresh Das.