Rita Mustaphi is choreographer, dancer, educator and a disciple of the living legend
Pandit Birju Maharaj in Kathak style of Indian classical dance. She is known for her
visionary approach and innovations in dance, her multi-disciplinary productions
incorporating spoken word, live and commissioned music, and the utilization of
production elements. She is Founder and Artistic Director of Katha Dance Theatre (est.
1987). Under her vision and leadership, the company has become renowned for its
dynamic productions, distinctive movement style and technical virtuosity. Her work,
intelligently crafted storytelling, is recognized as being profoundly moving and
effortlessly intimate.
Ms. Mustaphi is a recipient of three McKnight Fellowships (1998, 1992, 1988) for
choreography, and recently received the forth McKnight Fellowship for Choreography
(2023). She received a Leadership award from the Council of Asian Pacific
Minnesotans, a Lifetime Achievement award from the India Association of Minnesota
and an Education award from the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in the
category of Excellence in Vision.
With a career and a commitment to Kathak dance spanning 35+ years, over 500
performances, and 50+ original choreographic works, she still revels in the process of
directing bodies in space, creating movement on her own body and exploring what
“moves” an audience to become engaged emotionally, intellectually and musically. Her
works have been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Minnesota State
Arts Board, The McKnight Foundation, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and many
others. Ms. Mustaphi has been commissioned by the Ordway Center for the Performing
Arts and toured her productions throughout the US, Canada and India.
Rita Mustaphi is choreographer, dancer, educator and a disciple of the living legend
Pandit Birju Maharaj in Kathak style of Indian classical dance. She is known for her
visionary approach and innovations in dance, her multi-disciplinary productions
incorporating spoken word, live and commissioned music, and the utilization of
production elements. She is Founder and Artistic Director of Katha Dance Theatre (est.
1987). Under her vision and leadership, the company has become renowned for its
dynamic productions, distinctive movement style and technical virtuosity. Her work,
intelligently crafted storytelling, is recognized as being profoundly moving and
effortlessly intimate.
Ms. Mustaphi is a recipient of three McKnight Fellowships (1998, 1992, 1988) for
choreography, and recently received the forth McKnight Fellowship for Choreography
(2023). She received a Leadership award from the Council of Asian Pacific
Minnesotans, a Lifetime Achievement award from the India Association of Minnesota
and an Education award from the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in the
category of Excellence in Vision.
With a career and a commitment to Kathak dance spanning 35+ years, over 500
performances, and 50+ original choreographic works, she still revels in the process of
directing bodies in space, creating movement on her own body and exploring what
“moves” an audience to become engaged emotionally, intellectually and musically. Her
works have been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Minnesota State
Arts Board, The McKnight Foundation, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and many
others. Ms. Mustaphi has been commissioned by the Ordway Center for the Performing
Arts and toured her productions throughout the US, Canada and India.