Kathak Dance Programme in Collaboration with SPIC MACAY

As part of its commitment to valuing and promoting Indian culture and arts, Seth M. R. Jaipuria School organised a Kathak event in collaboration with SPIC MACAY (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth) in the School auditorium on 4 August 2026. The event began with the traditional Lighting of the Lamp, symbolising the dispelling of ignorance with the luminosity of knowledge, creativity, and harmony. This was followed by a soulful rendition of the National Song.

The performers were then introduced to the audience. Shri Rudra Shankar Mishra, a noted Kathak exponent, is a Yuva Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee and a Graded Artist of Doordarshan. He belongs to the fourth generation of the Banaras Gharana, of the ‘Acharya Sukhdev Maharaj Shishya Parampara’. He is the son of Pt. Mata Prasad Mishra and nephew of Pt. Ravi Shankar Mishra, both UP Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardees. Shri Rudra Shankar Mishra is a disciple of both of them. Initiated into this Gharana since the young age of five, he has proudly carried the tradition of Banaras Kathak on stages in India and abroad, including Japan, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Sri Lanka.

Shri Rudra Shankar Mishra is an empanelled artist of SPIC MACAY. He has also been honoured with the Junior and Senior Research Fellowships from the Ministry of Education, Government of India, in the field of dance, and has published several articles on Kathak in peer-reviewed journals. Accompanying him on stage were the two talented artists, Shri Uday Shankar Mishra on the Tabla and Shri Raghavendra Sharma providing vocal accompaniment, who enthralled the audience with their mesmerising music.

The artist performed several captivating sequences on stage, including a spectacular tribute to Lord Shiva. Far from being a traditional one-dimensional performance, the event proved to be highly engaging and interactive. Shri Rudra Shankar Mishra perfectly understood his task: his audience largely comprised young and energetic students, whose attention he had to skillfully engage by actively including them in his performance, a task in which he effortlessly succeeded. He achieved this effect by going beyond traditional classical pieces and including improvised components specially attuned to students. With the deft support of his accompanying artists, his feet rhythmically tapped to mimic the gentle pattering of rain (aptly echoing the rain outside), the chugging of a train, and the whirring of a helicopter, spontaneously drawing applause from the students and the audience. He also invited students to participate by giving them cues to clap in rhythm with the dance and music, which they enthusiastically embraced.

The programme concluded with a heartfelt expression of gratitude to Shri Rudra Shankar Mishra and the accompanying artists for sharing the beauty and splendour of Kathak with the young audience. The School also acknowledged SPIC MACAY for its continued role in making classical Indian arts accessible to the youth of India. The programme served as a meaningful opportunity for students to experience Indian classical dance and connect with the enduring power of art to inspire and enrich young minds.