Janaki Patrik

🪔 About

Janaki Patrik is a renowned American Kathak dancer, guru, choreographer, and educator, celebrated for her significant contributions to Indian classical dance and cross-cultural artistic collaborations. Her journey in Kathak began in 1963 after witnessing a performance by Pandit Birju Maharaj, leading her to commence formal training with him at Kathak Kendra in New Delhi, India, in 1967. Patrik's extensive training also includes Hindustani vocal and tabla drumming, as well as Western classical flute, ballet, and modern dance, having received a Merce Cunningham Studio scholarship from 1971 to 1978. In 1978, Patrik co-founded The Kathak Ensemble & Friends in New York City, an institution through which she has served as Artistic Director, performing and choreographing extensively across the United States, Canada, and India. She has created over thirty full-evening productions, often integrating Kathak with diverse art forms and exploring rich poetic traditions in Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, and other North Indian languages. Her academic background includes a BA in Russian Language and Literature from Swarthmore College (1966) and an MA from Columbia University (2000), further enriching her artistic and research pursuits. A dedicated educator, Patrik has been active in arts-in-education for over four decades through CARAVAN, the arts-in-education unit of her company, teaching Lucknow Gharana style Kathak in Manhattan. Her contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including a Senior Research Fellowship from the Fulbright Foundation (1988/89), a Lifetime Achievement Award from Battery Dance (2018), and the Selma Jeanne Cohen Dance Lecture Award (2020). She continues to perform, choreograph, and teach, embodying a lifelong dedication to Kathak. Awards & Honours: Merce Cunningham Studio scholarship (1971), Senior Research Fellowship (1988), American Institute of Indian Studies Language Fellowship (1994), Lifetime Achievement Award (2018), Selma Jeanne Cohen Dance Lecture Award (2020).