Rang-E-Ishq – Colors of Love Digital Program
Rang-E-Ishq – Colors of Love explores the universal power of love in all its iterations (divine, earthly, and in between) via classical North Indian Kathak dance and Sufi poetry. Choreographed by Rita Mustaphi and heavily influenced by Sufism, Colors of Love follows the journey of an unnamed narrator on his journey toward inner peace as expressed by dance and poetry. Full of explosions of color, emotional depth, and joy, it marks the addition of another genre-bending performance in Ms. Mustaphi’s award-winning repertory of over 50 choreographic works.
Through Kathak dance, music, poetry, and storytelling, the work explores love as a force that can awaken, transform, and heal the human heart.
Choreographer’s Reflection:
Rang-E-Ishq – Colors of Love is a Sufi/Kathak dance-theater meditation on the transformation of the human heart.
Kathak becomes the body.
Music becomes the breath.
Poetry becomes the soul.
Narration becomes the thread that binds them together.
At its heart is a simple but profound question: How does the human heart become a source of peace in a fractured world? In a world marked by conflict, division, loneliness, and uncertainty, the wisdom of Sufi mystics offers a path of reflection, remembrance, love, surrender, and unity. Rang-E-Ishq follows an ordinary human being who begins to be surrounded by the noise of the world and gradually turns inward. Through longing, love, trust, surrender, and self-discovery, the seeker is transformed. But the journey does not end with enlightenment. The seeker must return to the world. The world outside may not have changed. But perhaps the heart has. And when the heart changes, the way we see one another begins to change.
In this Sufi-Kathak dance-theater work along with the dancers, the narrator is a seeker also. His body needs to travel through the same journey. The audience should gradually realize that the person who began to be surrounded by noise is becoming quieter, more open, more connected, and finally transformed.
– Rita Mitra Mustaphi
This performance will be approx. 90 minutes long, plus a 15-minute intermission.
Please note that video and flash photography are strictly prohibited.
Enjoy the show!
The Program
PART I — THE AWAKENING – From fragmentation to longing
Prologue – The World is Too Loud
Narrator: David Harris
NIDA-E-ISHQ – The Call of Love
Dancers: Rita Mustaphi & Ajay Patel
TAWBAH – The Turning of the Heart
Dancers: Sarika Haris, Nivedita Sahni, Rupa Nair & Vibashreya Srivatsan
PART II — THE FIRE OF LOVE – From longing to transformation
SHAWQ – Yearning
Dancers: Rita Mustaphi, Ishani Nandan, Rohini Chatwani & Pooja Newcom
MOHABBAT – The Awakening of Love
Dancers: Monica Singh-Shukla & Ajay Patel
ISHQ – Divine Love
Dancers: Rupa Nair, Nivedita Sahni, & Sarika Haris
PART III — DISSOLVING THE SELF – From identity to oneness
AQEEDAT – Trust
Dancers: Monica Singh-Shukla, Ishani Nandan, Vibashreya Srivatsan, Rohini Chatwani & Pooja Newcom
INTERMISSION (15 minutes)
IBADAT- Love as Worship
Dancer: Rita Mustaphi
WAHDAT – Oneness
Sarika Haris, Monica Singh-Shukla, Nivedita Sahni, Rupa Nair, Ishani Nandan & Ajay Patel
MA’RIFAT: Knowing the Self
Sarika Haris, Monica Singh-Shukla, Rupa Nair, Nivedita Sahni, Rohini Chatwani & Ajay Patel
PART IV — RETURNING TO THE WORLD – From realization to compassion
IKHLAS – Sincerity
Dancers: Sarika Haris, Monica Singh-Shukla, Rupa Nair, Nivedita Sahni, Ishani Nandan Vibashreya Srivatsan, Rohini Chatwani, Pooja Newcom & Ajay Patel
EPILOGUE — RANG-E-ISHQ – The Colors of Love
SAFAR-E-ISHQ – The journey of love continues
Dancers: Sarika Haris, Monica Singh-Shukla, Rupa Nair, Nivedita Sahni, Ishani Nandan Vibashreya Srivatsan, Rohini Chatwani, Pooja Newcom & Ajay Patel
Artistic Personnel
Concept, choreography, direction: Rita Mustaphi
Music Composition: Dr. Pooja Goswami Pavan
Costume design and construction (in India): Maitreyee Pahari
Set design: Rita Mustaphi
Rehearsal Master: Mukta Sathe
Cast
Narrator: David Harris
Voiceover Artist: Peter Susag
Dance Ensemble:
Rita Mustaphi
Nivedita Sahni
Rupa Nair
Sarika Haris
Monica Singh-Shukla
Ishani Nandan
Vibashreya Srivatsan
Pooja Newcom
Rohini Chatwani
Ajay Patel
Musicians:
Rubab and Daff: Peter Susag
Vocalist: Ritika Ganguly
Crew
Stage Manager: Fae Dougherty
Videographer: Jim Peitzman
Sound Design: Kalyan Mustaphi
Production Manager: Kevin A. Jones
Production Services Coordinator: Chadwick Cook
House Technician: Jacob Edholm, Mik Finnegan, Roger Rosvold
Stage Technician: Erin Gustafson, Barbara Edholm
ASL Interpreter (Sunday only): Sarah Brown
About Katha Dance Theatre
Katha Dance Theatre (KDT) creates, performs and educates through the art forms of dance, music, poetry and storytelling. Rooted in Kathak, the classical dance style of Northern India, KDT is dedicated to making dance accessible, inclusive and relevant. It enhances the local community by bridging diverse cultures and audiences to contribute to life’s infinite artistic expressions.
About Kathak Dance
Kathak (pronounced “Kah-tahk”) is an Indian classical dance tradition native to North India. Its origins can be traced back to as early as 400 BCE, when it began as a form of sharing stories, myths, and Hindu scripture in temples and royal courts. Characterized by both rhythmic and lyrical elements, it features graceful hand gestures, pirouettes, and complex footwork, performed with expressiveness and precision. Over the centuries, it has grown to incorporate diverse influences and viewpoints with KDT at the forefront of its artistic evolution.
ARTIST BIOS
CHOREOGRAPHER
Rita Mitra Mustaphi founded KDT with the goal of making Kathak relevant and accessible across lines of generation, culture, and community. Over four decades, she has built a reputation as an innovative, risk-taking artist; introduced Kathak to a global audience and garnered countless awards for her choreography and leadership. Ms. Mustaphi has choreographed more than fifty original dance works. Notably, she has performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall, at the prestigious Khajuraho Dance Festival in Madhya Pradesh, India, among other venues worldwide. Her collaborative choreographic credits include Karna – the Abandoned Hero (2013) with J.D. Steele; EKAM – The Supreme Oneness (2011) with Robert Robinson, and Sufiana – The Sufi Ecstasy (2016) with Pooja Goswami Pavan as well as The Hungry Stones (2018), Ritu – the Seasons (2018), Kathak E-motion (2023), Prakritir Pratisodh – Nature’s Revenge! (2025) and many more.
She is a recipient of four McKnight Fellowships for choreography (including one in 2023), a Leadership award from the Council of Asian Pacific Minnesotans, a 2011 Lifetime Achievement award from the India Association of Minnesota and a 2012 Education award from the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. In 2021, she received a Women’s Empowerment award from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. In 2025, she was given the prestigious Ernie Award by Dance/USA for her leadership and work behind the scenes of the national dance community.
KDT COMPANY
Sarika Haris began her dance journey in India, where she studied Bharatanatyam, the South Indian classical dance style, for over nine years. She joined KDT as a student under Guru Rita Mustaphi in 1999. Her selected performance credits with KDT as a company member include Panchatantra (2024), Kathak E-motion (2023), Ganga – A Choreographic Odyssey (2024), Shaamya – Of Equality (2021), The Hungry Stones (2018) Ritu – The Seasons (2018), Sufiana – the Sufi Ecstasy (2016), Pourush – The Masculine (2015); Rubaiyat – Life in a Day (2014), In Retrospect (2012), and the lead role in KDT’s production of Chandalika – The Untouchable. A student of Kathak masters Pandit Birju Maharaj and Ms. Saswati Sen, she performed in India’s Khajuraho Dance Festival in 2017. Sarika has been a KDT instructor since 2017 and a Company member since 2002.
Monica Singh-Shukla began her Kathak training under the guidance of Guru Rita Mustaphi at age 7, and joined KDT as a company member in 2006. She has participated in workshops with the late Kathak legend Pandit Birju Maharaj and guru Saswati Sen. Her select performance credits with KDT include Ganga – A Choreographic Odyssey (2024), Kathak E-motion (2023), Shaamya – Of Equality (2021), The Hungry Stones (2018) Ritu – The Seasons (2018), Sufiana – the Sufi Ecstasy (2016), The Rubaiyat – Life in a Day (2014), Karna – the Abandoned Hero (2013), and In Retrospect (2012). Monica has served as a KDT Kathak instructor since 2012.
Nivedita Sahni first studied Kathak at the Jaipur school of Kathak dance and the Kathak Kendra School in New Delhi, India. Locally, she has studied under Rita Mustaphi for over a decade and participated in workshops with the late Pandit Birju Maharaj and Ms. Saswati Sen. Her performance credits with KDT include Panchatantra (2024), Ganga – A Choreographic Odyssey (2024), Kathak E-motion (2023), Shaamya – Of Equality (2021), The Hungry Stones (2018), a leading role in Pourush – The Masculine, (2015), Ritu – The Seasons, (2018), Sufiana – The Sufi Ecstasy (2016), The Rubaiyat – Life in a Day (2014), and Karna – The Abandoned Hero (2013). Nivedita has been a member of KDT’s Company since 2008 and is a Kathak instructor at KDT school.
Rupa Nair began her dance career at Mumbai’s Sri Rajarajeshwari Bharatha Natya Kala Mandir, where she studied Bharatanatyam for ten years and for which she has won awards at state and district-level dance competitions. Rupa joined KDT as a student of KDT in 2012, and has since studied Kathak under her guru Ms. Rita Mustaphi and masters Pandit Birju Maharaj and Ms. Saswati Sen. Her performance credits with KDT include Ganga – A Choreographic Odyssey, Panchatantra (2024), Kathak E-motion (2023), Ritu (2018), Sufiana (2016), Rubaiyat (2014) and a leading role in KDT’s 2015 production of Pourush – the Masculine. Rupa was an instructor with KDT from 2017-2018.
Ishani Nandan began her Kathak training at KDT School over a decade ago under Mukta Sathe & currently studying under the guidance of Guru Rita Mustaphi. She attended workshops with the late Kathak legend Pandit Birju Maharaj and his disciple, guru Saswati Sen. Ishani recently appeared in KDT’s 2022 production of Black Candle in a featured role & also performed in Kathak E-motion (2023). This is her third season as a member of KDT’s company.
Vibashreya Srivatsan began her Kathak journey at KDT in 2018 and has since participated in workshops with masters such as Saswati Sen and Durga Arya-Krüger. She has also studied bharatanatyam for over 15 years in Chennai, India. She has performed in Kathak E-motion (2023), Ganga: A Choreographic Odyssey (2024) and Panchatantra (2024). This is her second season as a member of KDT’s Company.
Pooja Newcom began learning Kathak at a very young age and danced with KDT as a company dancer and teacher for nearly 15 years, performing in company productions as well as taking workshops with Kathak legend Pandit Birju Maharaj and guru Saswati Sen. She recently returned back to KDT after a 13 year break and is grateful for the opportunity to again be part of such a beautiful organization, group of dancers and community.
Rohini Chatwani began learning Kathak at KDT in 2014 and has since participated in workshops with masters like the late Pandit Birju Maharaj, Ms. Saswati Sen and Durga Arya-Krüger. She first appeared onstage with KDT’s company in the 2022 production of Black Candle. She has also performed in Kathak E-motion (2023), Nature’s Revenge (2023), Ganga – A Choreographic Odyssey (2024), and Panchatantra (2024). This is her first season as a member of KDT’s Company.
KDT APPRENTICES
Ajay Patel began learning Kathak at KDT in 2020 and has since participated in workshops with masters like guru Durga Arya-Krüger. Prior to starting with KDT, he studied bharatanatyam for over 5 years with Ragamala Dance Company. His performance credits include Panchatantra (2024), Ganga – A Choreographic Odyssey (2024), Black Candle (2022). This is his fourth season as a KDT apprentice.
GUEST ARTISTS
Musician and writer David Jordan Harris is artistic director and co-founder of the performance ensemble Voices of Sepharad. He has performed in every region of the United States as well as in Canada, France, Spain, and Poland. Integrating his skills as a singer, actor, and dancer, David has appeared as guest artist with many ensembles, including Zorongo Flamenco, Katha Dance Theatre, Corning Dances and Company, Illusion Theater, North Star Opera, Rose Ensemble, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Lyra Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble Espaῆol, and In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre. A graduate of the University of Chicago, he is the interfaith arts special consultant at the Jay Phillips Centers for Interreligious Studies at the University of St. Thomas and St. John’s University, where he draws together cultural communities through theater, music, and dance, workshops for students and adults, innovative artistic collaborations, public forums, and artist salons. David was the founding Executive Director of Rimon: The Minnesota Jewish Arts Council.
Peter Susag (rubab, daff) has performed extensively as a multi-instrumentalist in the genres of flamenco, jazz, and tango. Currently, his focus is on the classical traditions of South Asia, with an emphasis on the rubab, a short-necked lute used in the music of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Iran.
Ritika Ganguly (vocalist) holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Minnesota. An ethnographer of Science and Technology, and musician by ear-training, she is a recipient of the National Science Foundation ‘Science, Technology & Society’ Program award, and the McKnight Composer Fellowship. Ritika’s artistic practice engages with orally transmitted genres of music, poetry, and narration. She trains in the field with Baul poet-practitioners on what it means to develop aural skills in community. Her compositional works rely less on music notation and theory, and more on audiative practices that deepen our aptitude to hear and vocalize. Her works often read as an exploration of power and hierarchy while creating a space where the stories of ordinary citizens can be told.
Ritika’s artmaking has been generously awarded and supported by the Minnesota Opera, McKnight Foundation, Jerome Foundation, University of Minnesota, Minnesota State Arts Board, Pillsbury House Theater, Red Eye Theater, Cedar Cultural Center, among others.
Dr. Pooja Goswami Pavan, Ph.D., (composer) is an acclaimed Hindustani (North Indian classical) vocalist, composer, educator, and scholar whose artistry bridges the depth of tradition with the vitality of contemporary creative expression. Her expansive repertoire encompasses Khayal, Thumri, Dadra, Ghazal, Bhajan, Sufiana, Kalam, and folk-inspired forms such as Hori, Kajri, and Chaiti, reflecting both her mastery of classical idioms and her sensitivity to diverse musical expressions. She earned her Ph.D. in Indian Classical Music from the University of Delhi.
An accomplished performer, Pooja has appeared at prestigious venues including The Ordway Center, The Guthrie Theater, India Habitat Centre, and India International Centre. Her distinguished performance career includes appearances at the LearnQuest Music Conference (Boston), the International Music Festival (Vietnam), the Indian Classical Music Festival (The Bahamas), the Thumri Festival (India), and the India Music Retreat (India). Since relocating to Minnesota, she has established herself as a dynamic and influential artistic presence through innovative collaborations with musicians, dancers, and theater artists across diverse genres and traditions.
She is a two-time recipient of the prestigious McKnight Fellowship, honoring both artistic excellence and community impact. She received the McKnight Fellowship for Musicians in 2016 and the McKnight Culture Bearer Fellowship in 2025, recognizing her sustained contributions as an artist, composer, educator, and cultural ambassador who continues to preserve, advance, and share the rich traditions of Hindustani music with audiences across the United States and internationally. Her new album, “The Mind, Ecstatic” – Songs of Kabir (Neuma Records, 2026) received both the Global Music Award and the Inter-Continental Music Award for 2026.
CREW
Kevin A. Jones (production manager) has worked behind the scenes of the professional dance and theater community for nearly 50 years. He was resident Lighting Designer and Production Manager for James Sewell Ballet for 20 years. His designs have illuminated internationally acclaimed ballets such as Moving Works, Barrage, Outerborough, Appalachia Waltz, Your Move, and Guy Noir: The Ballet. Locally, Kevin designed lighting for the last five McKnight Dancer Fellowship Solo performances, Minnesota Dance Theatre, CAAM Dance, and numerous other dance and theater companies. He is currently Production Manager of The O’Shaughnessy at St. Catherine University. He was declared as “one of the best Stage Managers in America” by Dr. Maya Angelou. He designed and implemented the lighting and sound systems for the TEK Box at the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts. He designed lighting for Killer Pig (Guy Behar & Sharon Eyal, choreographers, 2009) premiering for Gauthier Dance at The Colours International Dance Festival 2017, Stuttgart, Germany and for Rambert2 for a tour of Great Britain in 2018-2019. Kevin has also been the lighting designer for Ananya Dance Theatre since 2014.
Special Thanks
KDT FUNDERS:
Support for this project comes from a St. Paul Cultural STAR Grant. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support Grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. Additional general operating support comes from the McKnight Foundation, the Hubbard Broadcasting Foundation, the St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation, RBC Foundation, and the generosity of KDT’s private donors.
KDT PARTNERS:
IAM
KDT FY 2026-27 INDIVIDUAL DONORS:
$1,000 and above
Shilpa Manjure • Pooja & Ryan Newcom • Ranga Ramamoorthy • Kusum Gosain
$500 – $999
Amisha Bhakta • William Blackwood • General Mills • Jana & Erik Hagen • Sarika Haris • Rita & Kalyan Mustaphi • Rupa & Rahul Nair • John Palka • Tanwi & Jason Prigge • Shavani & Ajay Rawal • Nivedita Sahni • Binita Sinha • St. Paul & MN Foundation • Rekha Sreenikumar • Deacon Warner • Xcel Energy Foundation
$200 – $499
Bob Beverage • Ram Gada • Shanti Shah • Asha Sharma & Jeffrey Davies • Rowzat Shipchandler • Madhulika Srikanth • Mary & Ben Stephens
$75 – $199
Anonymous donor • Julia Abel • Riki Banerjee • Jan & Steve Campbell • Shilpi Chatterjee • Babu Chimata • Anirban Halder • Ashoke Mandal • Medtronic • Pratap Mysore • Anjana & Suresh Nair • Judy Thao • Anne Wharton
$74 and under
Anonymous donors • Virginia Jacobson • Rupa Kryzer • Donald LaCourse • Simi Patnaik • Jim Peitzman • Shruti Raghu • Malini Srivastava
STAFF
Rita Mustaphi – Artistic Director
Kalyan Mustaphi – Executive Director
Nina Hagen – General Manager
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Kalyan Mustaphi – Executive Director/Chair
Rita Mustaphi – President
Monica Singh-Shukla – Secretary
Ryan Newcom – Finance Committee
Kusum Gosain – Member at Large
Nash Shaikh – Member at Large
Tanwi Prigge – Member at Large
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