Chhandam Chitresh Das Dance Company

For General Operating Support

  • Amount
    $70,000
  • Program
  • Date Awarded
    9/28/2020
  • Term
    1.0 Months
  • Type of Support
    General Support/Organization
Overview
Chhandam Chitresh Das Dance Company, known as Chhandam, teaches and produces traditional, innovative, and collaborative North Indian classical Kathak dance. Through a rigorous School of Kathak, Chhandam teaches 300 committed students each year, with the goal of growing a pipeline of new artists in the form. Chhandam’s performing programs produce and present the individual artistic work of its artist community, composed of former students of the organization’s late founder, Pandit Chitresh Das. These performances reach an audience of 5,000 each year. This grant to Chhandam Chitresh Das Dance Company aligns with the Performing Arts Program’s Continuity and Engagement strategy through the Innovative Works component.
About the Grantee
Grantee Website
www.kathak.org 
Address
268 Bush Street, #2717, San Francisco, CA, 94104-3503, United States
Grants to this Grantee
for general operating support  
Chhandam Chitresh Das Dance Company produces traditional, innovative, and collaborative works of North Indian classical kathak dance, recognized by its representation of both Hindu and Muslim culture. Through Bay Area performances, national and international tours, an arts education program that reaches 6,000 K-12 children, and the largest Indian classical dance school in North America, founder Pandit Chitresh Das and his organization strive to preserve a classical art form, engaging both the Bay Area’s South Asian population and other cultural groups.
for staff development  
The vision of the Chhandam Chitresh Das Dance Company (CCDDC) has been, since 1980, to produce, increase awareness of, and teach the traditional North Indian classical Kathak dance, recognized by its representation of both Hindu and Muslim culture. Through performances, national and international touring, an arts education program that reaches 6,000 K-12 children, and the largest Indian classical dance school in North America, CCDDC founder Pandit Chitresh Das and his organization strive to preserve a classical art form, both within the Bay Area’s South Asian population, and across cultural groups. Hewlett has provided support for both a strategic planning process in the past two years, as well as a resulting project to improve marketing strategies. These planning processes have raised to the surface a major challenge for the organization: staff fills multiple roles, reducing their effectiveness. This is particularly true for the Executive Director, who holds too many positions to be sustainable. Support for CCDDC would provide coaching of key staff members through the process of strategic decision-making and prioritizing in the implementation of the strategic plan as part of its shift from a small volunteer-based organization to a mid-size professional organization.

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