Apekshya Panda is a professional Kathak dancer with 17 years of experience learning, performing and teaching. She began her training at the Bhatkhande Institute in Lucknow at the age of three and has since continued learning under Guru Rita Mustaphi, a prime disciple of Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji. Apekshya has additionally had the opportunity to study with Pandit Birju Maharaj ji and Saswati Sen during several summer workshops. As the youngest company member at Katha Dance Theater, she has been a part of large-scale dance dramas like The Ramayana, Black Candle, Beauty and the Beast, Soul to Sole, and Karna: The Abandoned Hero in collaboration with nationally and internationally known jazz, gospel and flamenco artists like Robert Robinson, Joko Sutrisno, and JD Steele. In 2012, Apekshya and her fellow members of the KDT Company performed the opening piece for the Concert of the Legends with Pandit Birju Maharaj ji and Ustad Zakir Hussain. She has been a teacher at Katha Dance Theater in Minneapolis, with experience teaching beginning, intermediate and advanced students. Apekshya is currently a student at MIT and will be providing Kathak lessons for students with interest, regardless of prior experience, at the Dance Complex in Cambridge. For a preview, join us for a free 3-day workshop this August. If interested or for further queries, please contact Apekshya at apekshya@mit.edu or at 763-367-0770.